The Art of Memory
Snidgetlass
Hello all. I started writing this story about two years ago before DH came out, but I'm going to do my best to keep it relatively canonical (if that's even possible to do in a HGSS story). The plan is to keep it pretty short - 15 chapters tops, but we'll see how that goes. Please review or I most likely won't have the motivation to continue.
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything.
Severus Snape cringed as he stared up at the slightly dirty plastic sign with "Granger and Granger Dentistry" printed in bold black letters. A string of lights in the shape of teeth flickered around the window frame, illuminating a floor riddled with toys and small children. He gritted his teeth and pushed the door open. A little bell chimed announcing his entrance. How thoroughly muggle of them.
Ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the children on the floor and a few of their parents, he strode to the desk. He was greeted with an empty chair and mounds of paperwork. He eyed a small bell at the edge of the counter. What was it with muggles and their fascination with bells? He straightened the long, black jacket he had exchanged for his long, black robes and tapped his foot in impatience. Of course she would make him wait.
After a few minutes a thin woman with bushy brown hair appeared from a room in the back. "I'm sorry sir," she said with a smile. "I didn't hear you ring the bell."
"That would be because I didn't ring it," Snape replied bitingly.
The woman continued to smile at him in an infuriating manner. She flipped open a schedule book and looked up at him expectantly. "Name?" she finally asked congenially.
He studied her closely. She was joking. She had to be.
"I haven't an appointment," he began.
"Oh, you need to make an appointment?" she broke in before he could continue. She picked up a pen from her desk and smiled at him again. "What day would be best for you?"
"While I find this little game positively riveting," he said with a sneer, "I believe you know why I'm here. Come along." He motioned for her to follow.
The woman's smile fell slightly. "I'm sorry sir. I believe I missed something."
Snape frowned and leaned across the counter to look into her eyes. A few people in the waiting room sensed tension and began to watch, mostly out of sadistic curiosity. "Miss Granger, we've been looking for you for days. Now, come along. Minerva needs to talk to you."
The woman took a step back. "I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else," she stated firmly.
"Is your name Hermione Granger?" he growled.
"Well, yes but…"
"Then I do not have you confused with someone else." Snape reached into his pocket for his wand, prepared to take her by force if necessary. Her eyes widened.
"Please, whatever it is you want, I'll give it to you," she said fearfully. "Just don't shoot me. There are children around."
Snape pulled his hand back out of his pocket. She thought he had a revolver? She thought that Severus Snape was carrying around a muggle handgun? Something was going on. He studied her closely - brown eyes filled with contempt, unmanageably wild brown curls, a stack of books at her side - it was most definitely Granger.
"Do you not recognize me?" he asked through a clenched jaw.
"Should I?" she responded in surprise. "What is your name?"
Snape rolled his eyes, increasingly annoyed by Minerva's insistence that he collect the irksome girl.
"Severus Snape," he spat. Her eyes showed no sign of recognition.
"I've never seen you in my life," she insisted. "How do you know who I am?"
Snape ignored her question. "May I speak with your parents?"
"Well, they're busy and I'm not sure if…"
"I said, may I speak with your parents," he snarled. "I won't ask you again, Miss Granger." She swallowed and scurried out of the room. Seconds later, two indignant Dr. Grangers stormed out.
"Who are you and what do you want with my daughter?" her father yelled. Snape smoothed back his black hair.
"I think that this conversation would go more smoothly without the presence of such a large and particularly eager audience," he said coolly.
"I think we're perfectly fine out here," the dentist replied. "Now who are you?"
"My name is Professor Severus Snape."
The two dentists looked at each other in recognition. Snape smirked. So she's told them about me. Mrs. Granger immediately stepped forward and ushered him out of the waiting room. They hurried back to an office area and sat down. The three Grangers stared at Snape expectantly. He stared back.
"I suppose you would like to tell me why your daughter is here instead of at Hogwarts and why she has absolutely no memory of my existence," Snape hissed.
"We thought you would know," Mrs. Granger replied tentatively. A worried look crossed her face. "They told us someone would be coming for her after -" she paused. "Hermione, dear. Will you go attend to the front please. We'll call you when we're done speaking with the professor."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but grimly conceded.
Mrs. Granger lowered her voice. "She showed up at our door a week ago. We woke up to the most wretched knocking and we opened the front door and she was there. We hadn't seen her in months. It was pouring rain and she was soaked to the bone and wearing her costu...erm, robes." Snape pursed his lips and refrained from the remark that was lingering at the tip of his tongue.
"We got her inside and warmed her up and asked her how she had gotten there, but she didn't know. We asked her about her job and her friends and anything else we could think of. She told us she'd never had a job and listed off half a dozen friends she had in primary school."
Snape thought quickly. Had she been hit with a memory charm? A Confundus gone wrong? Had she hit her head? Mrs. Granger clasped her hands together and continued.
"Well that scared us to be sure, so we sent an owl off to the Headmaster at the school." Snape's eyes flickered, but he abstained from wincing. "It turns out that he's not the Headmaster anymore, but the new one wrote back. She said that she'd be sending someone to collect her. I suppose that's you," she said quietly.
Snape did not look fazed; twenty years of traitorous deception had taught him that. He cleared his throat. "How far back is the break in her memory?"
The Grangers looked at him somewhat timidly. "Eleven years," Mr. Granger replied. "She remembers her tenth birthday."
Snape's mood sank even lower. This was going to be quite a bit more difficult that he had expected.
"She does seem to have retained her general memory, however, and developmentally she seems alright, perhaps with a slip here and there," Mrs. Granger broke in quickly. "She appears to be more or less the same Hermione."
Wonderful. "Have you given her an explanation?" he asked emotionlessly.
"A car accident. She doesn't - well, she didn't -" Mrs. Granger stammered. "She didn't receive her Hogwarts letter until the next summer."
Sweet Merlin. She thought she was a muggle.
Snape stood and folded his arms. "How, then, do you propose I persuade her to accompany me to seek help?" The Grangers didn't answer. "I can't bloody well tell her I'm taking her to St. Mungo's to have the medi-witches unobliviate her!"
"We'll talk with her," Mr. Granger sighed. He rose and called Hermione back into the room. She eyed Snape suspiciously.
"Honey," Mrs. Granger began with an arm around her daughter. "This man is going help you get better."
"Is he a doctor?" she asked skeptically.
"Of sorts," Mr. Granger jumped in. "He's going to take you to see a specialist and hopefully repair whatever damage happened during the accident." Hermione stared unabashedly at Snape.
"He doesn't particularly look like a doctor, Mother."
"Don't worry, dear. We know who he is, and we've met the people he's taking you to see. You can trust us. Now go with him. We'll send your things along later."
Snape eyed the girl with disdain. "Come along, Miss Granger. We can't keep everyone waiting any longer." He swept from the room, past the goggling group in the waiting room, and out the door. Hermione hugged her parents quickly and scampered out after him.
"You could at least wait for me," she snapped crossly. He didn't answer. "Who are you, anyway? How do you know who I am? Where are we going?"
"Merlin, girl. Even with head trauma you're a bloody headache," he muttered. He swept down the street, taking no notice that his charge was struggling to keep up.
"So you know me?"
"Unfortunately."
"So we're friends?"
"Hardly."
"How did we meet?"
"Must you insist on speaking, Miss Granger? I've enough of a headache as it is from that horridly muggle establishment."
"Muggle?" she asked in confusion.
Snape stopped, unintentionally allowing her to catch her breath. "Miss Granger, I don't know how I'm going to get this through your sickeningly logical little mind, but you're a witch."
"That's not a very nice thing to say. I've just had an awful accident."
"I'm not even going to bother," he grumbled. His plan had been to walk to the Leaky Cauldron so he would have time to explain everything to her, but he decided that he didn't care all that much. Minerva had decided not to fill him in on the entire situation, so she could fix it. He put his arm around Hermione's waist and disapparated with a pop before she could pull away. They stumbled into the inn and Snape dragged Hermione towards the fireplace.
"Wh-wh-what w-was-"
"It will be explained. Take some of this powder," he shoved her hand into a jar. She grabbed a shaky handful. "Step into the fire and say 'Hogwarts'."
"What?" she screamed incredulously.
"Do it!" he commanded. She tentatively stepped into the flames and squeaked 'Hogwarts' before disappearing. Snape nodded to Tom with a frown and did the same. The Grand Foyer was in an uproar when he arrived.
"You sent her through the floo...without anyone? That was absolutely irresponsible, Severus. You of all people..."
"This is most certainly not a hospital. Where are all the..."
"...you overgrown bat! Treatin' our Hermione like that. We oughta..."
"You apparated in the middle of London? What if you'd been seen? What if..."
"I want to call my mother! She said he was a..."
"...she doesn't even know the real story? A car accident? Really, Severus. One of the greatest witches of our age and..."
"I can't believe you just sent her through the floo! Harry Potter himself has gotten lost in the floo. She could be in..."
"Silence!" Snape roared. "Yes! I apparated with her in the middle of muggle London! Yes, I sent her through the bloody floo! No, I did not explain to her the whole sodding situation, and yes, your mother lied to you, you ridiculous, ungrateful know-it-all." Everyone fell silent. He stalked towards Minerva, wand extended. "I completed the task you required of me. You have your precious charge. Now leave me be!"
"But Severus, we'll need your..."
He spun and whipped his wand in Flitwick's direction. "You do not and will not need my bloody help ever again," he spat. "I'll be in my rooms. Whoever cares to disturb me can do it knowing full well they are about to die an excruciatingly painful death."
He stalked out of the foyer and slammed the door leading down to the dungeons behind him, leaving four irritated educators and a potions professor sans memory in a dazed state of shock.
"Bit dramatic," said Neville.
"Tell me about it," said Minerva.
"Bloody nutters, that one," said Hagrid.
"I can't believe he sent her through the floo," said Flitwick.
"That man is definitely not a doctor," said Hermione.
At that, they all seemed to remember she was there and rushed to her side.
"Are you alright, Miss Granger?" Minerva asked.
"I was recently in a car accident, but I'm feeling alright now," Hermione replied. "Apparently I've lost some of my memory." She sat down in a chair near the front doors, eyeing her companions warily. "Where exactly am I?"
Minerva stepped forward and took her hand. "This is all going to be rather hard for you to grasp, I'm afraid. You are currently in the Grand Foyer of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Hermione pulled her hand away, and stuttered, "W-w-witchcraft and wh-waht? I think there must be some mistake. I'm Anglican."
"Please, just let me continue. Ten years ago, you received a letter from this institution. You won't remember because your memory does not currently reach that far back. In the letter, the former headmaster explained that you were a muggleborn witch, that is, that you have magical abilities and you come from a non-magical home. Does that make sense to you? Do you recall any odd things that have happened to you? Strange coincidences or things of that nature?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose it isn't altogether shocking once I think about it. An alarming number of breakable things tend to break when I get angry."
Minerva smiled warily. "You attended school here. You received top marks every year. You became a prefect your fifth year and were nominated to be head girl your last year, although you did not attend school for reasons which shall need to be divulged at a later time."
Hermione swallowed and continued listening intently.
"Following the completion of your final examinations, you took a potions apprenticeship with Professor Snape, that rather, erm, passionate gentleman who brought you here. You received your mastery in potions and you now teach here at Hogwarts."
"I teach potions."
"Correct."
"And I live here."
"One floor below us."
Hermione pressed her index fingers to her temples. "This is rather a lot to take in."
"Of course it is dear. Take your time to process everything."
Hermione took a deep breath and sat in silence for a few moments.
"I don't mean to be rude, but who on earth are all of you?" Her eyes drifted from Minerva's dark robes and pointed hat, to Flitwick's diminutive stature, to Neville's overenthusiastic smile, to Hagrid's - well - to Hagrid.
Neville knelt beside her, grabbing her other hand. "I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom. We went to school together, you and I. We're friends. I'm apprenticing under Professor Sprout in herbology."
"Filius Flitwick. Professor of Charms."
"Rubeus Hagrid." Hagrid stepped forward with tears in his eyes, pulling a rather alarmed Hermione into a hug. "Oh, Hermione. We've been worryin' so much about ya. When I get my hands on whoe'er did this I'm gonna..."
"I think Miss Granger would be most appreciative if you would release her, Rubeus," Minerva said sharply. Hermione's eyes bulged in thanks and Hagrid dropped her to the floor.
"Er, sorry 'bout that."
"S'okay," Hermione managed as she caught her breath.
Minerva stepped forward. "And I am Minerva McGonagall. I'm sorry that we got a bit ahead of ourselves. I am the headmistress at the school and I was your head of house when you were a student."
"Pleasure to meet all of you."
The all smiled at her leerily and she slowly sank back into the chair.
Minerva paced back and forth. "Now we must try to discover how your memory has been so thoroughly wiped. I've not seen a case like this in some time."
Hermione's face fell. "Mum said that many people who receive head injuries from accidents experience some degree of amnesia for a while. Surely this isn't permanent."
"We don't believe a car accident did this to you, Miss Granger. In fact, we have no idea what happened, but if you'd allow us to take you to the hospital wing for an examination..."
"I'll get the memories back, won't I? How can I teach if I've never heard of the subject? What about my friends? Where will I live? Is there anything to be done?"
Minerva smiled vaguely. "Well, let's just go see what Madam Pomfrey has to say."
Hermione's tearing eyes suddenly lit up. "Madam? Does she speak French? I just finished reading the most wonderful book on France and -"
"Apparently some things never change," Neville remarked to Hagrid and Flitwick as Hermione continued to chatter on. Hagrid smiled grimly and sauntered up the stairs after McGonagall.