Title: Remember To Forget
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Towards the end of a very strange seventh year, Hermione is attacked late one night by an unknown assailant. It is this attack that causes her memory to reset, taking her mind back six months… back to when she was dating Ron, not Harry…
Authors Notes: Yes! An actual update!!! *cheers* The rewrites are going well- haven't had much time to work on them but- had a lot of stuff going on lately (don't ask). But I should get a whole heap written tonight which means you will get an update next weekend too! Yay!
Nine
The note was delivered by a very stressed looking Professor Flitwick, who's only words were to tell Hermione that the note was from Minerva and that all her lessons would be cancelled for the day Hermione was thoroughly disgruntled by this news and she muttered to herself the entire way back up to Gryffindor tower about how unfair it was.
She was, however, very confused when she arrived in the tower, as the entire of Gryffindor was waiting in the common room, looking panicked and worried.
'What's going on?' she asked Ron as she found her way over to him. Harry was nowhere to be seen.
'Dunno,' Ron said. 'Got to Charms and Flitwick was talking with Minerva, who looked very harassed about something. Flitwick then sent us to our common rooms. Everyone else has pretty much the same story.'
'Where's Harry?' Hermione asked, her face drawn with worry. 'If something is going on…'
'I'm right here,' Harry said, coming up behind them. 'And I don't know what's going on so don't ask,' he added, looking at Ron.
Hermione felt weird. This was the first time since her attack that she had been with both of her best friends at the same time. Though, she couldn't figure out why it was so weird.
'Come on, let's find some seats, I'm not going to stand up forever,' she said, putting an end to the awkward silence.
They left their school bags where they had been standing and picked their way through the crowd and found that the window seats were empty. Hermione sat down immediately and saw Ron and Harry both hesitate over the seat next to her.
'I don't bite,' she sad playfully and they both laughed, a bit too eagerly. Harry eventually took the seat and he was sitting so far away from her that she was starting to think she was contagious.
An hour passed. People were starting to get restless, they weren't used to being shut up in the tower in the middle of the day. A few games of exploding snap broke out, however they caused more problems than they solved, as people didn't like cards blowing up behind them as they were packed in.
After what seemed like an eternity, Minerva made her way into the common room and a quiet fell at once.
'I apologise for the secrecy and panic this morning,' she started calmly. 'There has been an incident in Hogsmeade this morning. Three known death eaters were spotted by the Auror's patrolling the visit and a scuffle broke out.'
The whole room tensed at the news that death eaters had been so close to the school.
'Luckily, the Auror's were successful on this occasion and I'm pleased to tell you that Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape have been arrested.'
A murmer broke out through the students. The fact that a former student and professor had been arrested caused much more interest- and that they were caught so close to the school!
Hermione had gone deathly white at the mention of the three names. Minerva was still speaking, but she couldn't hear anything that she was saying… the room was so hot… why didn't they have any windows open…
'Hermione!' Harry cried suddenly, throwing out his arms to catch her as she slipped off the seat into a dead faint.
~*~
Hermione opened her eyes and for a moment was confused as to why exactly she was in the hospital wing.
And then it came back to her.
The death eaters in Hogsmeade. The heat.
She had fainted.
Harry and Ron were both beside her bed, looking very worried. She smiled weakly at them as she became more aware and they both seemed to exhale at the same time.
'You gave us such a fright,' Harry said, relief evident on his face. 'Don't do that again, ok?'
'I'll try not to,' she said, realizing how weak she felt. 'I just… I just don't know what came over me.'
Both boys nodded and Ron muttered something about going to tell Minerva that she had woken. Harry stayed right where he was.
It was Harry who had carried her to the hospital without saying a word. She had been out for a few hours and it was that that had worried Mineva and Madam Pomfrey. Especially after such serious head injuries so recently.
But now that she was awake, Hermione didn't seem to care about that. She had only one thing on her mind and she had to tell Harry.
'I know why they were in Hogsmeade,' she blurted out suddenly. Harry seemed to not know what she meant for a moment, before remembering the events of the morning.
'How?' was all he could ask.
'Harry…' she paused and closed her eyes. She could see it all so clearly now. 'They were the ones who attacked me.'
Harry stood up slowly.
'Snape? And Malfoy?'
'And Bellatrix,' she added softly. 'I think I know what happened… they thought I was dead from the branch they were hitting me with… but they hid to see what happened… but I was alive… they botched up… they were meant to kill me… so they stayed in hiding in the forest and they were trying to make a run for it…'
'Are you sure?' Harry asked and she nodded.
'It just… hit me, when Minerva said the names. I knew it was them, I just couldn't get the words out. That's why I fainted. Except…'
Ron came back into the room with Minerva and both of them looked curiously between Harry and Hermione. Hermione stopped in the middle of her sentence.
'Go on- tell them,' he urged and she repeated what she had told Harry, but for some reason she didn't finish what she was about to tell Harry earlier. Minerva said nothing, just nodded her head and told Hermione to eat something and get some sleep, before hurrying off. Harry watched her go, before excusing himself and following her.
'Well, it's just us then,' Ron said, pulling his chair closer to the bed. 'Chocolate frog?'
~*~
'Are you going to get the Order to confirm what she said?' Harry asked Minerva as he followed her down the corridor. Minerva nodded shortly.
'Of course I am, Potter,' she said, speaking her password to the gargoyle and they both started climbing the spiral staircase. They reached the heads office and took up their usual seats- Minerva behind the desk, Harry in front of it.
'It's almost time,' Harry said and Minerva just looked him straight in the eyes.
'Harry, it was time a few weeks ago,' she said, only half sternly.
'I know,' he said bashfully. 'I just…' he sighed. 'I just didn't want to leave without… without her remembering.'
'Today just proves that you can't put it off any longer,' she said gently. 'Potter, you have to go search for the horcruxes. I cannot help you. Miss Granger and Mr Weasley can only help you so far. Don't you remember the conversation we had at the start of the year?'
'How could I forget,' Harry said softly.
He could never forget sitting down with Minerva and telling her everything that Dumbledore had told him about the horcruxes. She had listened with interest, but being Minerva wasn't happy to live in the world of speculation. So Harry had told her his plan. He didn't care about exams marks any more. He only came back to school for one reason- to have access to the library. He was honest with Minerva back in September and told her he didn't expect to be at school still by exam time.
But exam time was agonizingly close and he was still at the school. And they both knew it was because of Hermione. He wasn't going to go until Hermione remembered what he was to her.
'Harry,' Minerva said softly. 'I think you might just have to leave.'
Harry didn't say anything. He was afraid she was going to say that. He couldn't speak. He stood up and headed out of the office, down the spiral staircase and back out into the corridor. He was distracted by his thoughts as he wandered aimlessly back towards the tower. He was so distracted that when he ran into something solid he tried to keep walking.
'You alright there, 'Arry?' a loud voice said. Harry looked up and delight rushed through him.
'Hargid!' he exclaimed, wrapping himself around Hagrid's leg. 'When did you get back?'
'This mornin',' Hagrid said. 'Had to get Grawpy back up in the mountains. Got to 'Ogsmeade just as Snape and Malfoy and that Lestrange woman came out of the forest. Helped the Auror's and the Order stop them from escaping.'
'Well it's good to have you back,' Harry said, feeling the happiest he had felt in weeks.
'So what's been goin on?' Hagrid asked as they started to walk towards the hospital wing.
'Let's see…' Harry paused and tried to look as if he was thinking. 'Where shall I start?'
'At the start,' Hagrid said. 'I've been away all year.'
'Well the year started with a bang, what with all the Slytherin's not returning and those Ravenclaw's getting chucked out for their connections to the Death Eaters. Kept going in the same vein, people leaving cause of the Death Eaters or because their families had been killed or because their parents wanted them at home. And then…' Harry paused. 'Snape, Malfoy and Bellatrix were trying to make a run for it after they half killed Hermione.'
'WHAT!' Hagrid's bellow echoed through the stone corridor. 'Hermione?'
'Yeah,' Harry nodded. And as they walked, he explained the story of what had happened. 'And then when Minerva told us this morning about them being caught, something happened and she fainted. She's still in the hospital wing.'
Hagrid shook his bushy head.
'I dunno what this world is coming to,' he said sagely. 'When Hermione gets better, you all better come down and have some tea with me.'
'We will,' Harry assured him as they reached the door to the hospital wing. Harry then bade him goodnight as entered.
'Hey, Harry, you're just in time!' Ron said, patting the seat next to him indicating for Harry to sit. 'Hermione's little faint seemed to have been a good thing- she's remembered some stuff.'
Harry couldn't put his finger on the feeling, but it annoyed him greatly that just two days after Hermione had found out that she was missing six months of her life, Ron had become her best friend and most trusted confidante. It made Harry's stomach feel like it needed to move to a new home somewhere higher up his torso.
'So, what new things can you remember?' Harry asked, trying to sound brighter than he felt.
'Well,' she started. 'When you and Minerva left, I asked Ron what it would all be about and he mentioned the horcruxes and it was like an avalanche hit me. It was strange, I could suddenly remember all this stuff about the horcruxes!'
'Like what?' Harry said, suddenly eager.
'Like…' she dropped her voice so that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be able to hear her. 'Like the necklace.'
'What about it?'
'Harry, the necklace is at headquaters.'
Harry was struck dumb. He remembered the locket that they couldn't open when they had been cleaning, that summer between fourth and fifth years. He had never connected that locket and… he gasped.
'R.A.B.,' he said and Hermione nodded.
'Regulas A Black,' she said with a smile. 'Are you glad I fainted now,' she said, batting her eyelids.
'Very,' he said and without realizing what he was doing he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.