Chapter 1
He couldn't believe he'd finally completed the training. The last three years of his life have been gruesome. He had to get up at the crack of dawn each and every day. He didn't sleep until way after midnight or later at times. There were times when they weren't even allowed to sleep for a few days. But nothing was as bad as the torture he had experience at the hands of Voldemort. Then again, he was younger at that time.
He was barely seventeen when he had to confront the vilest wizard of the century. He no longer had his mother's love as protection. That was erased when Voldemort used his blood to rise again from his limbo state of being. The battle was probably one of the many most difficult times of his life. One, when he was orphaned at the age of one. Two, when he lost his godfather. Three, when he lost his mentor, Dumbledore. The battle killed many people he cared about, and others he did not know. It hurt him deeply when he could not save his friend's brother, Grawp or Charlie. Or the thousands of people he'd gone to school with and families that were destroyed because of the battle. The only thing that kept him sane was his best friends.
If he thought about it any deeper, he knew that the training would have gone a lot better if he had his friends nearby. Letters were aplenty, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't like he didn't make friends at the training camp, but he knew that there were limitations to his friendships after the battle. Sometimes he wasn't sure whether or not people genuinely wanted to be friends with him or if it was the relationship with the boy who lived, the chosen one, or the savior they were after. So he was wary of people except for those who already knew him and accepted him as plain Harry. They don't stare at the lightning bolt scar that somehow still lingered on his forehead. They don't ask him stupid questions like "were you scared when you confronted the Dark Lord?"
His decision to become an Auror was a surprise to some, but not to those close to him. The people who were surprised didn't understand his passion for helping others and for keeping people safe, especially keeping families together. He wanted to help others create a better future for their families. Perhaps even help create a better future for his friends and his family, the Weasleys and Hermione. And maybe even a better future for the family he would create in the future, he hoped anyway.
He was surprised by Hedwig's sudden appearance. He thought he'd sent him to the Burrow to let them know when he'd be arriving. He didn't expect a response. But he guessed he was going to get one anyway.
"Hey, girl. I didn't expect to see you back." He lifted his arm up so that Hedwig can perch on it. He took the letter and recognized Ron's handwriting instantly.
Dear Harry,
Meet me at the Grangers. Hermione was kidnapped a few days ago. She managed to escape her captors, but she's not doing too well. I think it would be best if you were here. She's been asking about you.
Your Brother,
Ron
His heart dropped to his stomach. The thought of Hermione in danger gave him the shivers. The anger came next. Why the bloody hell didn't they let him know when she first went missing, he thought. He felt his blood boil and about ready to erupt like a volcano. His heart beat faster and faster. He needed to get to an apparition zone quick. He started walking fast. Then faster. He broke out in a run after a few paces. Was he overreacting? If anyone in his family were hurt he would react the same way, wouldn't he? He was so sure he would. He'd lost too many people in his life to take any threat to those close to him lightly.
As soon as the thought left him he popped into an apparition safe zone near the Granger resident. When he appeared, again he broke out in a run. By the time he arrived at the Grangers, his clothes were soaked with sweat and his heart was beating fast. He couldn't distinguish whether or not it was beating fast because he was still not over the fright, or if it was from the sprint.
He took a few moments to catch his breath. He looked around the neighborhood. It looked just as he remembered. Peaceful and well maintained. The gardens looked immaculate. There were hardly any nosy neighbors like his Aunt Petunia. He remembered how she and her neighbors would peek outside their windows when they noticed something peculiar around their neighborhood. He was trained to spot the idiosyncrasies around him during training. As he took in his surroundings, he scanned the area thoroughly for anything that might have looked out of place. When he was satisfied of the safety, he rang the doorbell.
"Harry!" came the most cheerful female voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't leave the camp until your training was complete?" For some reason she knew it was going to be Harry at the door. She'd leapt up as if she'd just sat on hot coal when the door bell rang.
Harry didn't know what to say. Before he could answer her about his training, he saw Ron shaking his head walking towards him. He also saw Mr. and Mrs. Granger shaking their heads. He didn't know what they were shaking their heads for, but if he had it right it could be because of Hermione's question.
"Is that anyway to greet your friend after you haven't seen them in a long time?"
Harry stared at Hermione for a moment. Her face had a few scratches and a few bruises. Her brown bushy hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She wore a V-neck t-shirt where the V part seemed so low to make Harry uncomfortable. But overall, she looked healthy as a horse.
She wondered what he was doing at her parents' doorstep looking so bloody sexy. Was it a crime to think your best friend was sexy while your fiancé was in the room, she wondered. No matter, as long as he was there and he was safe. She hadn't seen him since he'd left for training. He hadn't been allowed holidays during the rigorous training she was sure he'd undergone. She wondered why he was allowed one now. She also wondered why her heart skipped a beat when she saw him standing in front of her. She didn't care at the moment. She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and gathered him into her arms. It felt so good to hold him, she thought.
He accepted the kiss and the embrace. Merlin, he didn't know how much he'd miss her until that moment. Was it wrong to miss your best friend so much, he wondered. There couldn't be a crime for missing a friend. He also missed Ron, didn't he? But if he was honest with himself, he'd answer that he didn't miss Ron the same way he'd missed Hermione.
Before he could ponder, Ron came up and gave him a hug and a thump on his back. "It's good to see you mate," Ron whispered.
"You too, mate."
He greeted Mr. and Mrs. Granger with hugs as well. Luckily he'd cleaned himself up while he was scanning the place. He wasn't sweaty anymore, but his jet black unruly hair still stoop up on end.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger excused themselves so that they could prepare supper. They'd asked Hermione to help them much to Hermione's dismay. She followed them because she knew that the guys needed their moment. She would get to her time later.
"So, what's going on? She looks fine except for the minor scrapes and bruises."
"You would think wouldn't you? But you haven't talked to her long. I just wanted to talk to you before you spend any more time with her." He looked at him. His emerald eyes looked so serious. He knew he probably gave him a scare with his cryptic note, but he couldn't help it. He needed his help with Hermione. He knew that he was the only one who could help her.
"Well, what is it?"
"She has some sort of Amnesia."
"She remembered me fine. Although, she did think I should still be training. What is that all about?"
"That's the whole thing isn't it? She doesn't have full amnesia where she can't remember anything. She has a rare type of amnesia where she remembers everything to a point in the past. In her case it's like she remembers everything up to about a year ago."
"Is that a bad thing then? We can fill in the blanks for her, can't we?"
"We can't. The healers at St. Mungos said that we can't tell her anything that happened in the past otherwise we may risk putting memories in her mind that do not really exist or that happened other than what she experienced."
"Okay, so we have to lie to her?"
"Not really. We just can't tell her anything about past events. If she doesn't remember it, don't bring it up."
"So, you're her fiancé aren't you? You'd have to know more about her from the past year than me, right?
"That's the thing, Harry. I thought she'd tell you since she wrote to you more than me. I guess she didn't."
"Tell me what exactly, mate?" Harry looked at Ron suspiciously. He knew Hermione wrote him everything that happened in her life. Sometimes she put too much information that just made him put her letters down for a while before he could go back and re-read them.
He knew it was foolish to be upset when he read about how happy she was with Ron, but he felt it. He was supposed to be supportive of her and Ron. He was supposed to be happy that they were happy. But if truth be told, there were times when he wasn't happy for them. He couldn't pin point what it was exactly that made him feel that way. He just chalked it up to fatigue and being alone during the training while the other parts of the trio were together. He got over it. He told himself that many times.
"Harry, I thought for sure Hermione would have told you. We broke our engagement months ago."
A/N: I thank you for your reviews. It means a lot to me to know that you are reading my writing. It means a lot more to know that you are enjoying it. Stay tuned for more.
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