Disclaimer: All of Harry Potter and his world belongs to the one and only JKR, the WB, and I suppose the folks at Universal now.

A/N: I wanna go to that theme park so bad. Anyway, actual authorly stuff: this is an old story that I've re-done. I hope y'all like it, but being from an old plot bunny, it is in fact, AU now.

Obliviated

As the omen flashed green at the end of Ginny's nightmare, she bolted out of bed, her nightshirt sticking to her, the sheets imprisoning her legs. She jerked like a dying spider, desperate to escape as she grew colder with drying sweat. Harry felt her thrashing and reached for her, but she was as stuck inside the nightmare as she was in the sheets. All she saw was him falling. In her vision, he was dead, and she re-doubled her efforts to escape their bed, finally stumbling free. Harry jumped to her side and held her tight. She was vibrating with sobs and hyperventilated breaths.

"Shh. Shh, love. It was a nightmare," he stroked her hair, "It was just a nightmare."

He kissed her hair, tears dropping and staining auburn spots into her vibrant, Weasley red. They'd been waking this way for at least a week. It was taking longer each night for Ginny to calm down.

"I know you're scared, love, but I'm telling you, it's a recurring nightmare, nothing more. Everything's going to be fine."

Ginny sniffled and shook her head, rubbing her face on his chest. She didn't believe him.

"Let's just get breakfast," Ginny mumbled after several minutes. She put one hand to rest on her pregnant belly, pulling Harry behind her with the other. But when she got to their icebox to pull out eggs, he wrapped his arms around her belly, nuzzling his nose into her neck, and whispered, "I'll get it, hun. You sit." He twirled her to a stool at their breakfast nook, which made her smile, and then she stifled a giggle when he pulled on one of her frilly aprons with a flourish.

"Oh, Harry! I don't even wear that one. It was a gag gift from Fred and George!"

Harry waggled his eyebrows at her, coaxing a belly laugh.

"Thanks, babe," Ginny said after she recovered.

She smiled, watching him drop the eggs over a skillet. They cracked in mid-air and the shells flew into the rubbish bin. It wasn't until he was slicing the packaging on some steak that she turned pensive again. He was distracted, so he didn't notice her bite her lip.

Ginny wasn't convinced her nightmare was just a nightmare. It had to be a vision. The dreams were too linear, too vivid, too real, to be simply the product of pregnancy hormones. They just didn't feel like dreams. She wished she could talk to her mother. Her mother would have known, but she was dead. Ginny clenched her teeth. Azkaban was too good for that scum. Ginny's eyes glazed over red as she remembered the night Rudolphus Lestrange killed her mother. She'd chased him through Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, then tracked him to Wiltshire, then to New Quay where she'd managed to trap him in an anti-apparition ward. If Tonks hadn't been there, Ginny would have killed him. She'd considered it even with Tonks there. It wasn't exactly professional Auror behaviour, but she'd screamed at him through a waterfall of tears. She begged him to run. "Just try to escape, please!" she'd shouted. Molly Weasley was the best mother a girl could have, and it had destroyed her father when he saw her get hit. The scum wrecked her family. The least he could have done was given her the courtesy of trying to run.

"Ginny, love? You alright?" Harry asked.

"No." Ginny sighed. "I miss mum."

Harry put a hand to her face, wiping a tear with his thumb. She hadn't even realized she was crying.

"I miss her, too."

"If she was here, she'd know," Ginny said.

"I told you: I talked to Angelina. She's had nightmares, too. It's nothing to worry about." Harry took Ginny's face in both hands, but it didn't stop her from shaking her head.

"No, Harry, I'm sure this is different. I've never had nightmares like this before. It's so real." The last words squeaked out at barely half volume.

"It's just your hormones. You'll see. The Healers will tell you the same thing."

Ginny hated that he was probably right. They would say it was hormones, but she just knew it wasn't.

"I don't care," she huffed, pulling her face from his hands. She pouted. "I want to call Hermione." She cut Harry off before he could protest. "I know. I know I shouldn't." Her brother and Hermione were in a delicate spot. The last time Hermione had seen Ginny was at the fourth month, and Ron said she'd cried for a week after. Hermione hadn't even wanted to talk to Ginny since then, though they'd talked a little after several weeks…until last month. Ron and Hermione had been trying to conceive for over a year. Hermione just found out last month that she was sterile, and it was back to no contact for Ginny and her best friend. Ginny rubbed her belly.

"Harry, would you fry up some bangers as well?" Ginny was craving processed meats something fierce with this pregnancy, and it had gotten worse now she was trying to distract herself from the nightmares.

Harry could tell she was just trying to distract herself, but he went to the ice chest anyway.

"I dunno. Maybe you should call Hermione," he said.

"Really?" Ginny's voice rose an octave with the shock.

"Yeah. Ron says she's been doing a little better, and you two haven't talked in a month. If she can handle it," Harry put on his stern face; after all, he had to practice, "and if it will make you feel calmer about these nightmares. Well, then maybe it would be good for you both."

Ginny smiled and walked slowly toward him with a grin. She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I love you, husband of mine."

Harry grinned back. "Wife of mine." And then he held her as close as her belly would allow and kissed her like he hoped they could start twins. Of course, it ended before they could get to that part when Harry had to go plate the steak and eggs, and the bangers for Ginny. And smart man that he was, he served it up with a side of floo powder, which Ginny decided to do before her meal. Making a floo call on a full stomach when you're pregnant is not fun, as Ginny had discovered in her second trimester.

"Hey Ron, how you been?" Ginny said.

"Gin! Good to hear from you! I'm doing alright, just trying to keep these kids on target. I swear they're worse behaved than when were in school."

Ginny smirked at her brother. "Surely not worse behaved than us. Ron, you were a horrible troublemaker. As I recall, you lost at least 100 house points for swearing alone. And don't get me started on Fred and George. Hell, I even lost several handfuls of house points. Then you got Harry and Hermione, almost the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team who liked to cut up, Lee Jordan. Should I go on? And that's just folks we knew."

"Yeah, but we were saving the world," Ron smiled in what he thought was a dashing manner.

"Yeah, yeah." Ginny smiled. She never would have imagined her brother becoming a professor, but in the end, he just didn't feel like going the Auror route. Ginny suspected that Hermione might have had a little something to do with that. Hermione didn't want him out there. She hadn't even blinked when she made the decision herself to stay out of the fighting after the final battle. Ron had barely put up a fight when she begged him to stay out of the Auror route, too. They'd all been offered positions after the battle, but Ron didn't really want it anymore anyway. If he had, he'd have fought harder. It wasn't the safest career, and Ron wanted to be a family man more than anything in the end. He decided to teach defense instead. Of course, Harry hadn't wanted her going either, but unlike the other Weasley, Ginny wanted it. At first, it was about revenge, but now, she just couldn't imagine another career. After a life of it, both her and Harry felt like there wasn't much else they were suited for, and in the end, they were doing good. That was good enough.

"So, how's Hermione?" Ginny asked, pulling herself from her reminisces.

Ron's face tightened. "She's okay, Gin, but things are definitely still a little rough around here. We've talked about adopting, but that's not what either of us really wants."

Ginny knew this had all hit Ron hard, too, though he hid it pretty well most of the time. He was just trying to be strong for Hermione. When she'd found out that the fight against Bellatrix had sterilized her, it had been a blow for Ron, too. Ginny could still remember his face when he called from his office floo to tell her and Harry.

"I know, Ron. I know. So, I guess she wouldn't be up for a call from me then?" Ginny shoved the words past her closing throat. It always made her want to cry for hours when she thought of what the war had done…to all of them. And now, it was reaching into the future five years to destroy her closest friendship.

"Actually, I was thinking about a visit," Ron said.

Ginny's eyes flew wide. "Is that a good idea?"

"Well, as rough as things are, I think that losing her friends is starting to wear on her just as much as the diagnosis. She's been talking about Harry for a few weeks. And I know she misses you, too. I'm not sure, but she might be ready to try seeing you again."

"Oh Ron! Really? You have no idea how much that would mean to us!"

"Well, don't get too excited. I mean, it might still be too much for her, but I think I can convince her to try."

"Well, we could just start with a phone call." Ginny was worried about pushing it.

"No," Ron said firmly. "She needs to jump in and handle this head first. She's strong and stubborn. She can do it once she has enough motivation, and I think missing you both is getting her to that point fast, especially now that she needs the support more than ever. And you know she's not the type to dip in her toes. It's jumping in or staying on the shore for my woman." He smiled. Ron loved her so much.

"That's true." Ginny grinned and they set everything up. Ron agreed to bring Hermione over for dinner in two nights. Bubble and Squeak was on the menu. It was one of Hermione's favourites.

As usual, Harry cooked. It wasn't that Ginny couldn't cook. In fact, she usually cooked breakfast every day. She just didn't actually like to cook, and Harry was used to it, sort of indifferent about the whole thing, so he did it for her. It was their unofficial, regular arrangement. It had started pretty early in their marriage out of necessity when she would nearly break down every time she got in the kitchen and remembered her mother. And ultimately, even after things got easier, Ginny just never saw any reason to spoil perfection. She smiled to herself as she set the table for their company. She was actually excited. It would be so good to see Hermione…even if she couldn't talk with her about the (possibly pregnancy-induced) nightmares.

It was right after she placed the last silverware set when she heard the loud pop that indicated Ron and Hermione had just apparated to their doorstep. A moment later, the doorbell rang and Harry answered it. Ginny could hear him welcoming them in, and she slowly made her way out to the foyer to greet them, too.

"Ron!" She smiled and hugged her brother. "You look like you've lost more hair." She ribbed him as they pulled apart.

"Yeah? Well, look who's gained a hundred pounds," Ron shot back with a grin. Ginny smacked him and pretended to be offended and he pretended that she'd smacked him hard. Then, she turned her attention to Hermione and Ron's arm was around his wife before she could blink.

"Hey Hermione," Ginny said cautiously. "How are you?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm okay." She smiled. It actually looked genuine. "It's good to see you, Gin. I was just telling Harry. I've really missed seeing you both. I'm sorry I've been so ridiculous." She choked a little on the last few words as tears squeezed past her self-control. "Ugh. I'm sorry," she shook her head, still smiling, and batted the tears away with a frustrated swat. "I told myself I wasn't going to cry." She laughed, but it seemed mildly hysterical.

Ginny felt panic bubble in her gut. She wanted to hug her friend, but she wasn't sure if that would be okay. Would it make things worse? She settled for a pat/rub combo on the arm. "Oh hun, don't even worry about it. You know we understand. We've missed you, too."

Hermione hung her head, crying, before lunging into her friend's arms for a hug that Ginny returned after a quick moment of shock. Ginny laughed with happiness in her friend's hair and Hermione muttered, "I've really missed you."

Ginny held on for a solid two minutes she was sure. Harry and Ron had disappeared when she let go. Both girls had wet faces when they looked at one another, each laughing at the other. Ginny took Hermione's arm. "Come on in. Harry made Bubble and Squeak, and you know if we don't get there soon, Ron will eat it all before you get any." They both laughed all the way to the kitchen.

Overall, supper was a peaceful affair. It almost felt like old times, and they all moved to the lounge after.

"So, Hermione, how's work?" Harry asked around Ginny, who was practically sitting in his lap on their loveseat. He tightened his arms around his girl.

Ron piped in before Hermione could respond. "Yeah, how's work, love?" He smirked good-naturedly, "Fallen back in with Lockhart, haven't you?" He took the smack from his wife, but she scooted closer to him on the sofa and he flexed the fingers resting on her hip.

"Actually," Hermione smirked back at her husband, "It's been going really well. Since finding Mnemone Radford's notes on the Obliviation charm, I've been looking into several more avenues of research. I mean, I started out being inspired by the way the Pensieve works with memories, but after reading these notes, it's given me a better idea of how the two are connected. And do you remember fourth year, what happened to Bertha Jorkins? Well, it made sense to me that if Voldemort could recover memories…albeit destroying her mind, then maybe there really was weight to my theory that the charm works more like an inner Pensieve."

Ron nudged her. He loved that she was still the girl he married, with her love of research. And her enthusiasm about her work was endearing, but he could see that glazed look in Harry's eyes. They were still them as well.

Hermione blushed, "Anyway, it's going well. I've had more ideas, and they are all starting to come together. I'm working in the Janus Thickey Ward with Lockhart to gather some more information, and I think I'm really close to making a breakthrough." She smiled self-deprecatingly at Ron, who couldn't resist kissing her. Ginny and Harry looked away, smiling at each other.

Ginny whispered, "I think this is going well." She was hopeful, but Harry shook his head.

"I know, but maybe you should talk to Ron first," Harry whispered back nervously.

Ginny pouted, but she nodded. And Harry made some kind of face at Ron that immediately had him excusing himself to go help Harry get dessert.

"So, Lockhart, huh?" Ginny ribbed Hermione with a half-smile. She was feeling awkward now…a little nervous.

Hermione smiled, shaking her head. "I know. It's just because he lost everything…and so recently. Completely professional. I don't even want to think about that ridiculous crush I had on him in school."

"Oh, sweetie. I know," Ginny laughed, a little easier this time. "But it's no wonder Ron can't resist poking fun. He's gotten the last laugh there, huh?"

"He always does," Hermione smiled, but then she bit her lip. "Ginny, something's up with you. I'd like to think I haven't damaged our friendship so far that you won't talk to me." Now, she looked nervous.

"Oh Hermione! No! It's not that at all." Ginny moved to sit by her, placing a hand on her friend's. "No. You're still my best friend. I just…it's complicated." She frowned with a pout.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow. "Complicated? Gin, don't insult me." She smiled, taking the edge off the comment.

Ginny smiled. "Oh, of course not. I wouldn't dream of it. But, I guess I'm still worried about you."

Hermione patted her on the arm. "You're a good friend, but I was being silly." She interrupted Ginny's clear intent to interrupt, "No, I was. Throwing away a friendship right now, when I need it most was…stupid. And you know that's not my style," she smiled. "I'm happy for you and Harry. Honest."

Ginny's breath whooshed speedily out of her lungs and she hugged Hermione close, whispering in her ear, "I'm so glad to hear you say that. I was so worried we were losing you forever." She was misting and Hermione patted her back calmly.

"Never," Hermione said firmly.

When Ginny broke away, Hermione took her hand. "Now, I'm serious, Gin. What's bothering you? I know there's something up."

Ginny's turn to bite her lip, but she didn't delay her response. This was, after all, exactly what she'd hoped for. "I've been having nightmares," she blurted. "Harry swears they're because of hormones, but it's more than that. It has to be."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Why? What are they about?"

"Harry dies, Hermione." Ginny clenched her teeth to stop the tears as her friend's eyes go wide.

"Oh, Gin!" Hermione hugged her until Ginny was laughing at herself. "If these aren't nightmares, hun, what are they?"

"I think they're visions."

Hermione let out a short laugh before she could help herself. Ginny didn't mind. She knew her friend was a skeptic, and that was part of why she was perfect to talk to. Instead, she continued her explanation.

"They're very realistic. Each time, I see the same thing, and it's just so odd. Malfoy points a wand at Harry and he crumples to the floor. And then, some kind of omen flashes in my eyes before I wake up. And Harry says it's hormones, worrying about the baby losing a parent…like I lost mum," Ginny choked, "but he should know better than anyone how prophetic dreams can be." She frowned.

"Draco Malfoy!? Why would you think of him?"

"Exactly!" Gin said.

They had all lost contact with Malfoy after the war. He'd managed to get off on most of his charges, though Harry had had the pleasure of seizing a portion of his assets as payment for damages. That was during training when they'd first been enlisted as Aurors, since it was deemed a low risk mission, usually the business of another department, but pawned off for "training purposes" (more likely, laziness). Beyond that, they hadn't seen the blonde menace for four years. Even with him working in the ministry, they worked in completely different areas.

"Hmm." Hermione had on her thinking face. Good. "Well, I'm no expert on dreams, but when Professor Trelawney used to talk about it, didn't everything symbolize something? If someone died in your dream…well, it didn't mean they were going to die, right? And Muggles have even more explanations for dreams. Most of the science now points toward dreams being how your mind deals with things in your life." Hermione was lost in her thoughts, and Ginny could tell she had that look, the one she'd always get right before a trip to the library. Ginny nearly smiled, but there was something else bothering her.

"But what about the omen?"

"Oh, you know my opinion on those. It's probably your mind's reaction to the dream…a manifestation of the fear your dream gives you. That's a more logical explanation. Remember "The Grim" in our third year…turning out to be Sirius?" Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "No, I don't think the omen is important." She was more interested in why Ginny would be picturing Draco as the antagonist after all of these years. Why not one of the many dark witches or wizards they chased on a daily basis? And she asked, but Ginny couldn't explain it. That's part of why she'd been clinging so stubbornly to the idea that these dreams were visions.

Next thing the girls knew, Harry and Ron were back with dessert and they all had a few drinks and there was raucous laughter, and then Ron took Hermione home. A few quick cleaning spells later, and Ginny and Harry collapsed into bed, wrapped in each other.

"So, my love…better?" Harry asked as he stroked her hair.

"Mm. I suppose," she nuzzled into him. She did actually feel much calmer. Hermione had that effect on her. It was really good that they were going to be friends again. She smiled.

"Something's still bothering you? Isn't there?"

Ginny sighed. "Ugh. Yes. But I don't want to talk about it."

"Ginny," Harry admonished.

"I know, I know. It's just…why Malfoy, you know?"

"Babe," he squeezed her close, "I'll bet that's nothing. I mean, he was my nemesis in school. That's where we met. Everything's probably just melding with your hormones."

Ginny rolled her eyes. He was the same as Hermione. But she couldn't really argue with either of them, which frustrated her. It was more a feeling than anything else. Maybe she really was just being paranoid…side effect of growing up in a magical family. Though even Ron had been inclined to brush off the dreams when she'd told him. She huffed stubbornly. Hermione was rubbing off on him. "You're probably right," she pouted. "Let's just sleep." She turned over abruptly, her back to his front.

"Aw, hun! Don't be like that," Harry whined.

Ginny couldn't stay upset with him long, of course. And she fell into pleasant dreams after their making-up. There were racing brooms and kisses and family dinners…and then terror and screaming and flashing green omens. She gasped as she sat up. "No, no, no, no, no. Oh gods. No." She was crying waterfalls, her breath coming in pants. "It's the Avada Kedavra. I know it. It's the Avada Kedavra." She tore herself out of the sheets in a haze, oblivious to her husband's efforts to calm her. She wasn't even paying attention as her hands moved automatically for her robes. She threw them on inside-out.

"Ginny!" Harry finally shouted, drawing her attention. "Where are you going?" he asked, puzzled and frightened.

Still a little dazed, she responded. "I've got to go to the library. I've got to look up this omen."

"Hun, maybe it'd be better if you let me go," he spoke like someone approaching a hippogriff.

"No!" she shouted, overreacting.

"Well, at least have breakfast first and switch your robes rightside-out. We need to talk about this."

She shook her head, but looking down at her robes seemed to break the spell her dream had put her under and she started to breathe more calmly.

Harry guided her to the kitchen table, gently pushing her into a seat. "You know, Dumbledore once told me it doesn't do to dwell on dreams. You've just been missing your mother. It's perfectly fine. I used to dream about my parents dying," Harry's brow scrunched up in that way that made Ginny feel like she should be comforting him, but he continued. "You can't let these dreams get to you. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." He hugged her, kissing her hair and stroking her back. She allowed him to lull her into his calm, but she was going to the library…right after he left for work.

And the second he disapparated, she flipped her robes and called the Knight Bus. She'd found most other methods of magical transportation uncomfortable in this late trimester. At least on the bus, she could keep up the strength in her arms as she glued herself to the poles, trying not to fly around with the driver's erratic steering and stopping. Keeping her mind distracted until she got to the library, she remembered threatening to run away from home on the Knight Bus when she was six. She couldn't even remember what Ron had done now that she'd gotten blamed for and caused her threat. But she remembered her punishment. Her mother was livid and she'd had to do both hers and Ron's chores for a month… If she threatened to run away, then she would need to learn how to do these things, Molly had shrilled.

When the bus stopped at the library, Ginny was smiling. She did miss her mother. Maybe she was being ridiculous about these dreams. But then, she remembered the fear…the way the dreams felt. No, she needed to look up this omen. She needed to know. She marched off the steps and down the street, taking Dulaney Church Street, just off the corner of Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley. She marched all the way up the steps of the little building, positioned at the top like some kind of shrine, which it was. A shrine to books. When Ginny walked in, the inside was, of course, deceptively large. It was easily as large as the coliseum. The books were covering every surface except the floor. A row of librarians was right across from the doors, and Ginny continued her march right up to a short woman with tightly bound blonde hair. She was a little chunky and very rosy, but she wasn't what Ginny could traditionally call, cheery. In fact, she seemed a little intimidating.

"Ma'am…I need to look up an omen."

"Of course," the librarian responded tersely and moved from behind the desk, walking a few feet toward the back of the building and pointing her wand at several different shelves. Each time, a book (or an entire shelf full) came flying to a cart beside her, which she passed to Ginny when she was finished. The librarian had plucked nearly a hundred books in a short minute. Ginny should have been more specific, she supposed, but she quietly propelled the cart to a table and sat. She was able to disregard a few books by their covers. Despite the Muggle saying, Ginny found covers could be very revealing. It still took her the better part of an hour to sort through all the titles and find three that she felt would actually be useful. She moved the rest to the cart and began to skim through hundreds of pages of text and tiny, revolving, 3-D images. And at some point she must have fallen asleep because she was startled awake by a familiar, though certainly not welcome, voice.

"Well, if it isn't Ginevra Weasley-Potter," sneered Draco Malfoy. "Haven't seen you in years. Though your husband caused me some stress four years ago, as I recall." He spun the book in front of her around with one finger, reading a few of the items on the page. He snorted. "Cute. Omens got your knickers in a twist? Seems you bloodtraitors are not only poor with no social sense, you're also gullible. Everyone knows omens are just a bookseller's vice to rake in the galleons."

Ginny couldn't even formulate a response. He's right. It's been years, and now, they suddenly run into one another right when she's been having dreams about him killing her husband. She worried she might hyperventilate on the spot. She could stay cool in any number of encounters with dark wizards, calmly navigate the sea of danger, but faced with one little coincidence, she was panicking.

Malfoy just smirked at Ginny's face and walked away. It took her several minutes to regain her composure, but once she had, she threw herself into scanning the books with renewed energy. She flipped the pages with a frenzied sort of dedication, a tattoo of rustling pages, hustled by her fingers—until it stopped. She looked down at a picture of a stylized bird, listed as the Eagle Owl. It glared up at her in green, just like her dream. The text circled inside her head: "an omen of danger." It seemed like Draco's sneering voice was repeating it.

"Miss, are you okay?" One of the librarians collecting carts and returning books stopped by Ginny's table. She was pale and trembling, so it wasn't an illogical question. Ginny managed, however, to wave her away with a whispered, "I'm fine, thanks."

And after several minutes, she was. She'd just go home and calmly tell Harry everything. She nodded her head firmly, pleased with her solution. Maybe he'd at least be convinced to be vigilant.

"Oh, gods. I sound like Mad-Eye," she murmured hysterically and shook her head at herself. "I've gotta get outta here." She rushed quickly from the library, tripping a little on the way down the steps. Her ankles were swollen, and this wasn't the first time it had messed with her coordination.

She called the Knight Bus as soon as she made it down the treacherous stairs. A few minutes after she got on, the bus took a hard left and Ginny felt a cramp, like the worst period cramp ever, in her lower back that shifted low into her pelvis. "Oooh," she groaned, disturbing one or two witches sleeping on beds nearby. She ended up sitting at the end of one of the occupied beds, though it didn't help the pain. Of course, she groaned inwardly. Her midwife had warned her that labor might come early for her first pregnancy, but she'd been hoping not more than a few days. She wasn't due for two weeks yet. By the time she was back at her and Harry's flat, the dream was pushed far to the back of her mind. She flooed her midwife first thing, and the woman showed up in the fire only moments later. Then, Ginny insisted on flooing Harry at the office, but before she got the chance, an Eagle Owl was rapping at her kitchen window. Ginny jumped and everything came back to her again. She slumped into one of the chairs around the table, her hands shaking. The midwife ended up opening the window, looking at Ginny quizzically as she brought the letter over.

Dear Mrs. Ginevra Weasley-Potter,

I regret to inform you that this afternoon, after returning from his lunch break, your husband, Harry Potter, was involved in an altercation with Draco Malfoy from the Obliviator Headquarters. According to several aurors who attempted to assist, there were words exchanged and then Mr. Potter attempted to disarm Malfoy after a threat, but Malfoy managed to cast the Obliviate Charm at 2:53, and witnesses saw Mr. Potter collapse. He has regained consciousness, but he does not appear to remember anything about himself. He has been transferred to a private room in the Janus Thickey Ward on the Fourth Floor of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Healers are attempting the usual treatments. Mr. Malfoy has been detained for questioning by the Heads of both the Auror Department and the Obliviator Headquarters, as well as two highly decorated officers of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol.

With regret,

Hallidan Magresiac

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Ginny was actually relieved for a brief moment before she remembered what the Obliviate Charm does. Her dream was right. Harry was as good as dead. Her sob broke out of her like a violent prisoner. It was a blasting whoosh, piercing her gut…or maybe that was the contraction. Another one hit. She wouldn't get the chance to dwell for another minute and a half. The two pains mixed and combined to form a Neville-worthy failure of a potion in her belly. The second she'd thought it, she felt bad. He hadn't destroyed a potion attempt that badly since school. Of course, he never attempted anything so complicated, and everything in the world was made easier without a surly, hook-nosed professor looming over you.

It was hard to distinguish when the one pain ended and the only one left was the emotional. It felt mighty physical right now, but once she determined the contraction was indeed over, Ginny gasped, "Thanks, Harriet." She realized her midwife had held her hand throughout it. "I don't know what to do." Ginny sobbed out. She couldn't believe she was here, about to give birth, and Harry was in the hospital, obliviated. She remembered Lockhart. Would Harry be like that? She shuddered.

"Is there anyone I can floo for you, dear?"

Ginny bit her lip. She needed Hermione, but would this push things too far? She'd done really well last night. "No. That's okay. I'll contact Hermione myself." She made the decision to contact Hermione through Patronus as they'd learned during the war. No sooner had she made the decision than a silver otter ghosted in front of Ginny's face and spoke. "Ginny, Harry just got admitted into the Janus Thickey Ward. I've been studying Lockhart here. I saw them bring him in. What's going on?" Hermione's voice was worried and fast approaching panic by the end of the message. Ginny immediately conjured her Patronus and sent another message.

"Draco and he fought at the ministry. I'm in labor. Please come." Ginny was choked up by the end, so she had to be quick.

Mere seconds later, Hermione apparated into her kitchen and helped Ginny move to their lounge, holding her as she sobbed on the sofa. It took her several minutes to give Hermione an explanation, and she still had to fight her way through it.

"Oh, hun," Hermione crooned. "Don't worry. Shh. Shh. Don't worry." She patted Ginny's thigh absentmindedly and took her hand when the next contraction hit.

When it was over, Ginny gasped out, "How can I not worry? I can't raise this baby on my own."

"I'm going to figure something out." Hermione looked like she had when she was determined to break a rule, no matter the cost, because she was sure it was the right thing. It was a slightly terrifying thing to be close to, but you believed it. It gave Ginny the calm she needed to make it through the labor and birth. She and Harry had elected to be surprised, but Harry was not-so-secretly hoping for a girl. Ginny wanted a boy. She almost thought, "Next time," when her baby girl was swaddled and handed to her. This brought on a fresh wave of tears.

"Oh, Gin! She's beautiful," Hermione sighed breathlessly. With an air of reverence, she reached for the baby. "Can I hold her?"

Ginny smiled. "Of course."

Hermione rocked and cooed and misted. She handed the baby back. "So, what are you going to name her?" she asked as she swiped furiously at her eyes.

"We were going to name her Lily Erin. Lily Erin Potter," Ginny choked out.

Hermione just nodded. After a minute, she whispered, "Do you want me to contact Ron?"

"Yes, please."

When Ron showed up, there were some more tears as he and Hermione cooed over their niece, and Ginny finally collapsed into the sofa, asleep. Ron carried her upstairs, and he and Hermione watched the baby, sending the midwife on her way. And when Ginny woke up a few hours later, they were still there.

"I want to go see Harry."

They were all nervous about what they'd find, and it was a long journey on the Knight Bus, since no one wanted to leave the baby behind, and they weren't to keen about travelling with her any other way. When they made it to the hospital, a healer showed them to Harry's room.

"Hey Harry, it's Ginny. Do you remember me?" Ginny asked. She knew the answer, but she had to check.

He looked at her with consternation. "No. Should I? The nurse here tells me I've forgotten a lot of things."

Ginny just looked at him sadly, sat on his bed, and took his hand into her own. But Hermione, Hermione became a flurry of movement. She checked Harry's pupil, did a few waves of her wand over his head, made some notes. "I need to get as much data as I can while the charm is still fresh. It could be crucial later."

Ron and Hermione knew this was just how she was handling the stress…even if it was also a valid use of her time. Ron approached Harry's bed next.

"Hey mate. I guess you don't remember me, but I gotta say, you look like shit!" He laughed, but it died quickly in his throat. Harry just looked at Ron, bemused.

"You're rude," Harry said.

"Oh, no, Harry. Harry, that's your best friend, Ron. This is just how he deals with things." Ginny frowned and smacked her brother. He hung his head, sheepish. Harry just looked at the exchange with confusion. At least he didn't seem to have that childlike smile that Lockhart was always sporting. Ginny found it annoying. It was creepy and morbid.

"Yeah. Sorry about that man." Ron blushed and rubbed his neck, finally pulling up a chair. He looked at his wife. He looked on the verge of tears and so did she. So, she finally stopped her flurry and settled her arms around Ron's neck, setting herself in his lap. They pressed their foreheads together, and cried, and whispered, and Hermione gave him the same promise she'd given Ginny. Ginny could barely stand to watch their grief.

Over the next few weeks, the trio could be found in Harry's room at nearly every possible moment. Hermione was usually working at the desk in his room. Ginny was still on leave, and she sat by his bed, talking. Ron spent every moment he wasn't teaching in a chair by Harry's bed, though he typically had to mark essays. Harry came to understand that these people cared about him, but mostly, he was still too confused about everything to interact. He didn't know them really, so he'd ask questions that would upset them, and then he'd try not to talk, which also upset them. And in general, he was confused easily. All victims of this type of violent Obliviation typically remained easily confused for years on end. They never recovered their old selves. Overall, it was a tense affair until one evening when Hermione was sitting at the desk in the corner and she gasped.

"Ron! Oh, Ron, come here!" she said excitedly, trying to be quiet but not quite managing, disturbing Ginny and the baby who had been sleeping in an armchair by Harry's bed. Ginny followed Ron over.

"Oh, sorry, hun. I didn't mean to wake you," Hermione blushed when she saw her friend and the sleepy baby.

"That's okay. What is it? You've found something, haven't you?"

"I think so. I was just going to run it past Ron before I disturbed you."

"It's okay, babe. She's fine. What is it?"

"Well, I can't be sure until I double check a few of these assumptions, but according to Radford's notes, the Obliviate Charm was based off the same magic that is used to remove memories and place them in a Pensieve. It has several modes. One, of course, is used to simply modify memories, and it can be reversed later by the caster or through dark magic, like Voldemort did with Bertha Jorkins. This is the same way someone can create a false memory to put in a Pensieve, as Harry told us about sixth year. Then, the other mode was supposed to completely remove the memory, like Snape did when he was teaching Harry Occlumency. Of course, stored in a Pensieve, it could be retrieved, but Mrs. Radford was looking for a way to remove specific memories like that, but then release them forever so they couldn't be recalled."

"Hermione," Ron growled softly. "The point?"

"Well, I think she made a mistake."

"Okaaay…explain," Ron said.

"Well, memories aren't that easy to get rid of. They have a strong link to the mind they come from. Even when you remove a memory to put in the Pensieve, for instance, you know what happened as you watch it. At first, I figured that was just because your mind was melded with the memory as it swirls in the basin…"

"Hermione," Ron interrupted again.

"Right. Well, in my studies with Pensieves, I could still remember, fuzzily what happened when I took a memory from my head, even without my mind inside the Pensieve. It's tied to me. But Obliviate removes it so not even a fuzzy glimmer remains. It's not stored in a Pensieve, so where does it go? I don't think it's just obliterated. I mean, I've watched Lockhart rediscover some aspects of his personality as if by instinct, like the autographing. I think the memories are still tied to him, which would mean they exist, but where?"

Ron rolled his eyes, but gave up trying to speed her up. He knew his wife when she got like this. She liked to explain everything, and part of her process was working through things out loud. She'd have made a great teacher, but her talents were definitely better employed this way. Ginny, however, was losing her cool a little.

"So, I got stuck. Where could the memories go?" Hermione continued, "I went back to the beginning, studying Radford's work, and I just realized that the wand flick here," she pointed to a diagram on an old page, "is similar to the one used in Priori Incantatem, which pulls from 'non-being' the ghost of prior spells a wand has cast. And that motion, is adapted from Evanesco, which makes things into 'non-being.' She intended the motion to be closer to Evanesco, to turn the memories into non-being, but her adaptations to make it work on memories inadvertently made it closer to Prior Incantato, pulling the memories from one storage location out to the other."

Hermione grinned as if she'd just told them something earth-shattering, but Ron and Ginny looked at one another, befuddled.

"Don't you see?" She shrilled. "The memories might be stored in the caster's wand!"

Ginny blinked rapidly. All this information in rapid-fire. Was Hermione trying to tell her that it boiled down to Harry's memories being stored in Malfoy's wand? She asked her flat out.

"Yes. Yes, I think so."

Ginny grinned. "Great, so how do we get Draco's wand?

"Well, I'm sure the Department of Magical Law Enforcement can force him to hand it over once they see Hermione's research," Ron said.

"Yes, I don't foresee that being a problem," said Hermione, "but unfortunately, I still don't have enough evidence to convince them. It's just a theory. And," she bit her lip and fiddled with her nails, "I still don't know how I'm going to remove those memories from the wand and get them back into Harry's head in correct form." Hermione pouted her lip and Ron came close to hold her.

"Don't worry, babe. You're always right." Ron grinned cheekily, but then, leaning in closer, he kissed her cheek and whispered seriously, "And we know you'll do your best. You're brilliant." She kissed him back passionately and Ginny looked away.

Harry was sleeping on the bed. Lily had fallen back to sleep in her arms. Oh, what she wouldn't give for Harry to come back to her, to really meet his daughter. Ginny stroked one chubby cheek. She was so beautiful with her red hair, Harry's eyes and skin, and Molly's mouth. Her fingers were long, but still baby-chubby, and Ginny put a finger in her palm, watching them wrap around it. A few tears dripped onto the quilt. It had been hers, a gift from her father when she'd told him she was pregnant. He'd been by to visit Lily a few times, and like any good grandfather, he was smitten with her. Who wouldn't be? Ginny kissed her daughter and chanced a look back at Ron and Hermione. They were both watching her, holding each other tightly as their own eyes misted.

"Here, Auntie Hermione. Would you hold Lily for me while I go to the loo?"

"Oh, Gin, of course! Thank you."

"No, thank you, Hermione. You've given me hope through all this."

Hermione blushed and distracted herself by looking at Lily. Ginny just smiled at her before turning around to leave. She wouldn't say anything, but she worried about how much time was going to pass while Hermione figured out how to get the memories back. How would she feel; how would Lily feel; how would Harry feel, if once he woke up, Lily was a year, two, three? It seemed ridiculous to worry about it when mere weeks ago this would have been a permanent thing, the Harry she knew gone forever. She felt ungrateful, but she was shattered. She couldn't get rid of the lingering fears and doubts.

When she returned, Ginny passed out again in the armchair, even as Hermione professed she was too wound up to sleep. And apparently, she was too wound up until 3:00, when Lily woke Ginny with a shrill, hungry cry. She set her to her breast and walked over to where Hermione was still pouring over notes.

"Hermione," Ginny admonished, noticing Ron snoring in his chair. "You need to sleep."

"No, I need to figure this out," Hermione snapped.

"No. I appreciate this, so much, but Hermione, you can't go like this. You need rest."

Hermione sighed. "I know, but I just," she looked over at Harry and trailed off.

"I understand. We all miss him."

Hermione nodded, and slowly rose, moving to Ginny's vacated armchair. She was out as soon as she sat.

Eventually, Hermione became Lily's full-time babysitter as Ginny went back on duty for the Aurors. They all still visited Harry every day. Hermione worked almost constantly on the new spell, as well as babysitting. She'd managed to confirm her theory with an adjusted form of Priori Incantatem, but figuring out how to adjust the spell so it would retrieve the actual memories themselves and free them from the wand was proving difficult. She'd tried the simplest thing first, the reversal spell to the magic used to remove a memory on the tip of a wand. But this was more complicated. The memories went deeper, stored in the core. She was sure if she could just draw them to the tip, they could be put back in with the reversal, but first, she needed to draw them out. Several incantations and wand movements seemed to be close, but nothing actually worked, and Hermione was getting frustrated. She was visiting the library every day and looking up more and more spells to draw from, but she was beginning to despair of ever finding the answer. She just didn't know where to look. This was Nicholas Flamel all over again. She was missing some important piece of this puzzle.

"Hey, hun." Ron came up behind Hermione, rubbing her shoulders. He kissed her neck. Ginny looked away, as had become her habit, but she could hear their whispers.

"How's it coming?" Ron asked.

"Ugh! It's not. I'm so frustrated!"

"Shh…love, calm down. You do this all the time. You just have to think of something else for a little while."

"I know, but I'm so…stuck!" she growled.

"I know. Maybe you need to go home for a few days. Relax."

Hermione frowned. She wasn't keen on the idea. Ron badgered her though until she gave in. Ginny stayed with Harry. This was her first time alone with him. He still didn't talk much. They walked around sometimes, all of them. He seemed to be assimilating the knowledge that magic was real. Most of his questions centered around that at the moment. He didn't take to Lily, though Ginny had tried to get him to hold her. He was scared of hurting her. He still didn't understand the concept that he was her father, and the healers told her he most likely wouldn't ever be able to. As far as they'd been able to tell, he'd reverted to something like his eleven-year-old self.

"Hey Harry. How are you?"

"Harry?"

"Your name."

"Oh. Right."

The healers said it might take some time for him to remember his name. For some reason, no matter how often he heard it, it didn't seem to stick. Hermione's theory was that his identity got so wrapped up in what Harry Potter meant, that it took up such a vast part of his memories of himself, that it was hard to fully grasp it without those pieces now: The-boy-who-lived, the hero, Voldemort's defeat, Ginny's husband, Auror. He had a strong sense of his identity that got wrapped with his name thanks to everything he'd been through. It was all a part of what Harry meant to him, and even if he couldn't remember, those pieces were holding him back. She said a lot of victims of the Obliviate Charm had more trouble with their own names than a lot of other things. At least he could walk. Some victims were known to have trouble regaining the ability. It was rare, but possible, so Ginny was thankful for that as she suggested they take a walk.

She needed this. When they were walking, it almost felt like things were normal…as long as she didn't look at his hospital attire. She just hated seeing him lay around and play with puzzles or draw.

"You're Ginny, right?" he said.

"Yes. Yes, I am." She fought a sniffle.

"And that's Lily?" he pointed to her, bundled in Ginny's arms.

"Yes. And do you remember who she is?"

Harry screwed up his face. Lily was also a sticky point. Probably because of the implications, Hermione suggested. He had a whole life he was forgetting if he had a daughter. It was physically proved by the little girl with eyes matching his own.

"She's your daughter?"

"Yes." Ginny sighed. They continued to walk down the hall in silence now. Ginny just wanted to cry all the time when she was with him. When Hermione and Ron were around, it helped her keep it together, but she found herself breaking apart in the hallway.

"Hey, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine," Ginny nodded even as tears streamed down her cheeks. This wasn't the Harry who loved her. He didn't really care about her. How was this fair?

"How is this fair!" she shouted it aloud. She didn't even realize she'd done it until Lily jerked, startled in her arms. Harry was nervously patting her on the shoulder. He didn't really know what to do. A Healer saw them and moved her back to Harry's room, sitting her in the armchair. Harry decided ignoring her was the best option and went back to one of his puzzles. Ginny finally cried herself into a sleeping coma, ignoring Lily's wailing.

And that was how Hermione found them when she returned the next morning. "Gin, wake up. Gin!" Hermione took Lily from her arms and started trying to calm her. She wasn't used to being ignored. Soon, Hermione realized the girl was hungry and passed her back.

"Mm," Ginny groaned when she woke. "Hermione? Weren't you supposed to be resting?" She put the baby to her chest.

"I did," Hermione beamed. "And I got an idea, so I'm back to work on it, and I brought something from your house."

Ginny noticed the long, slender broom in her friend's hand. "His racing broom?"

"Yes. I have a theory. Most of the people who've been obliviated can still do certain things that came naturally to them, like Lockhart and his signature. So, if Harry can still ride his broom, that will tell me that instinctual memory is still around. And then, I remembered locking the door yesterday," Hermione flushed. Clearly there was a story there, but she didn't expand on it. "What if I could lock two things together, like the mechanisms of a door? Two memories? So, my theory is that maybe I can adjust Colloportus to lock Harry's instinctual memory to his memories in Draco's wand. He could draw his own memories back out!" She was excited, and that made Ginny feel a few little burbles of excitement in her own heart. It almost hurt.

"Okay. Let's try it," Ginny's voice trembled with nerves.

Hermione bit her lip and walked to Harry's side. "Hey Harry."

He looked confused for a second, but sussed out that it was his name much quicker than he had earlier and nodded.

"Remember what we've been telling you about magic?"

"Yes," he replied warily. He still wasn't sure what he believed.

"Well, magic will let you ride this broom. Wanna give it a try?"

His face said no, but Hermione handed him the broom anyway. He took it with clear trepidation, but as soon as it was in his hand, he seemed to know what to do. The shock was obvious in his expression when he straddled the broom without a thought, but that expression was nothing compared to the next when he kicked off. He was a little wobbly, but he straightened out nicely before he landed.

Ginny's breath had stopped. Hermione's grin could undo a Boggart. And Ron, who'd come in a minute after his wife, looked like the Chudley Cannons had just gotten into the World Cup. He was the only one who spoke right away. "Wicked," said Ron.

"How did I do that!?" Harry asked, oblivious to all of them.

"Magic, Harry," Hermione answered and held Ginny in a hug. "I think I can figure out an adjustment to Colloportus by next week, maybe the week after." Ginny could only squeeze her friend tighter in response, her daughter squirming in her arm between them. Ginny's face was soaked in salty tears. As it sunk in, she started to laugh. Before long, they all joined in. Except Harry. Harry was still staring in amazement at the broom.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. It took Hermione a month to adjust the spell. She apologized profusely, despite Ginny and Ron's constant assurances that it was fine. She just hadn't foreseen that the locking part of the spell would give her trouble, she would say. Apparently, there was a fundamental flaw in the way Colloportus locked things. Hermione tried to explain it to them once, but Ginny was past the point where she could listen. She was amped up and nervous. She asked Hermione a million questions.

"Will he remember his time here?"

"Probably."

"Will he remember everything?"

"I hope so."

"What will he think about Lily?"

"I don't know."

"Will he remember what happened to him?"

"I don't know."

"How long will it take for the spell to work?"

"I don't know."

Finally, the spell was ready. Now, the real answers could come, and Ginny, quite against everything she'd imagined she'd feel, felt nervous. There were just so many what-ifs.

"Well, Harry, are you ready to remember your life?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose."

Ginny couldn't fight the incredulous expression. He should be feeling so much more than that about this moment. She was going mental. Fear, nerves, elation—they were all sending off sparks inside her belly. Gods, she needed her Harry back. She clutched Lily tightly to her chest and held her breath.

"Right," said Hermione. She counted down from three and performed the spell on Harry. There was no visible indication of whether it worked, but she continued to hold Malfoy's wand inside the field where the spell should be active. She'd just managed to finish navigating the bureaucracy at the Ministry this morning to get a hold of Malfoy's wand. It had taken a week, which was longer than they expected. He was still too well connected for an ex-death eater. Ginny had gritted her teeth and wished (not for the first time) that he'd been taken to Azkaban instead of simply fined.

Just as Ginny was remembering the ordeal with Malfoy's wand, it started to shake a bit.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked. Ron came up behind her, ready if she needed help of any kind, but the shaking seemed tame.

"It's fine," Hermione said. "I knew there was a possibility for this sort or reaction." She looked at Ron, reassuring him with her eyes and quickly spoken words, "I've got it." He nodded and backed off a step as Hermione held tight. The shaking had escalated rapidly. Hermione had to hold it with two hands and Ginny, who had turned her attention back to Harry, gasped. His eyes were a solid white, having rolled into the back of his head. Hermione warned her away from going to him, however.

"You don't want to get caught up in this field. I don't know what would happen."

Ginny watched without blinking. Slowly, a wisp of silver started to flow from the wand, and after a minute, it began to gush. And like a bucket that was overflowing, the field seemed to have all it could take, so the silver began to move toward the best available receptacle: Harry. It seeped in through every hair follicle, his nostrils, his ears, through his eyes, and swirled in his mouth before shooting up into his brain. The entire process took a full minute, but it was relatively quick for an entire lifetime of memories. Hermione had calculated that it could possibly take as long as an hour, so this was a relief. She let the wand drop to her side and looked tentatively at Harry as he seemed to be passed out in a standing position.

"Harry?" Ginny called.

His eyes fluttered, but he didn't open them, so she handed Lily to Hermione and moved closer to touch him. She laid her hand lightly on his bicep.

"Gin?" he muttered, opening his eyes.

"Harry!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. It took him a moment, but then he was hugging her back, lifting her off the ground as he spun her in a circle. Once he set her down, he kissed her, but only for a moment before he broke off abruptly.

"Wha…" she muttered.

"You're not pregnant." He looked around. "We have a baby!" His eyes locked on Lily and he walked slowly, hesitantly to Hermione. "May I?"

"Of course. She's yours." Hermione handed him Lily and he cradled her in his arms like the world's most priceless china doll.

Ginny walked up behind him, hugging around his waist and leaning up to rest her chin on his shoulder. She whispered, "This is Lily Erin Potter, your daughter." She'd said the words several times over the past few months, but it felt like the first time, and Harry's breath broke as tears welled up in his eyes. He stroked her cheek.

"She's beautiful."

Ron grinned from behind Hermione and came up to Harry's side, slapping him on the back. "Yep, you and my baby sister got a real cutie on your hands." He grinned and hugged them all, whispering in Harry's ear, "Good to have you back, mate." He swiped one tear away when he stepped back. Then, louder, he quipped, "Nice hair," with his trademark, lopsided Weasley grin. Hermione came up next, blushing.

"Harry, we've all missed you so much." She hugged him.

He smiled at her. "Thanks. Thanks for getting me back." He kissed her on the cheek and she was done for. She started to bawl, all the stress from the past months finally exiting her body in a deluge. Ron held her tight, and after a moment, she calmed enough to say, "Let's go…leave the two lovebirds alone to get reacquainted." She smiled past the tears and dragged her husband away, him pouting the entire way.

Ginny beamed up at her husband as she came around to face him, but then her face quickly turned to a scowl. "Why would you provoke Malfoy!? After everything I told you about my nightmare!" She smacked him on the arm, but then it wasn't hard enough so she did it again, and then she kept hitting him because she was crying. She gasped out, "I was so scared." Harry pulled her into a one-armed embrace as he held Lily in the other. He held her until she calmed.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered over and over.

Ginny pulled away after a few moments. "Why?" the tortured whisper tore itself out of her mouth.

"I just lost my head, love. I am soo sorry. He just mentioned that he saw you in the library, and he started doing that thing he does. I thought I got over it in school, but he just kept harping on, sneering, jeering about omens, and he threatened you, and I...I lost it." He hung his head.

"Oh Harry! I don't even care. I'm just so glad you're okay," she felt bad for hitting him. She had just been so scared for so long. They held each other tight for what felt like hours, but Ginny had a niggling worry.

"So, do you remember…everything?"

He frowned, pensive. "I think I remember everything up until Malfoy hit me with the spell. Past that, things get a little fuzzy. I mean, I remember being here. I remember you all being here, but most things are just…" he searched for a way to describe it, "Most things are just blurs of passing time, like my vision got put in a Teflon pan and swirled." He put a hand to his head. It was actually making him dizzy to try focusing on the memories that hadn't stuck.

Ginny patted him. "Well, it's all going to be okay now."

"Yeah. Don't let me forget to buy Hermione something amazing this Christmas," he grinned.

"I won't." Ginny smirked, kissed Lily on the head, and tugged her man until he was sitting in the armchair with both his girls in his arms. He kissed Ginny's hair and then Lily's.

"I love you," they said at the same time. They chuckled softly, and then they kissed.

The End

A/N: Be on the lookout for the sequel to this story, Medicine and Miracles, coming soon.

Teaser: Hermione scrubbed at the coffee table's top, her face scrunched up as she concentrated on a water ring. It was her dirty little secret. When she was upset, she cleaned the Muggle way. It was a habit she picked up from her Muggle mother, so it made a lot more sense that way. Still, Ron didn't get it. Of course, he wasn't around right now. She was a grown woman. She could get through this without a constant babysitter. She huffed. The fact was, since her perfect cure for Obliviation, she hadn't had any other assignments…nothing else to keep her busy.