Name: Horizon Lock
Pairing: Hermione/George
Rating: G (++ in later chapters)
Summary: Head trauma finds Hermione with little recollection of recent events.
Disclaimer: No characters/places/events from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series are mine.
AN: Wrote this a while back, finally decided to revise, post, and continue writing it. Feedback always welcome.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Unlike the all the other times over the last few months, this time, they held an awareness of her surroundings. Realization of her circumstance was not as quick to come to her. "Hospital?" she asked.
Her voice was either just in her head or it hadn't been loud enough to be heard. It didn't matter, because no more than seven seconds later - she recalled counting - George Weasley was at her side. "Hermione, Hermione! You're awake! Charlotte and Piper! You're--- Are you--- Are you ok?"
Hermione's eyebrows shot up through her bangs at the fervor in his voice and the intensity of his questions. Where were Harry and Ron? Why was George here with her? Why was she even here?
With a few discreet pops near the door to the hospital room, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and two unknown women entered the room, saving Hermione from having to respond to George.
She tried to move her mouth to say their names, but all that came out was a twisted half-Hagrid version of speech, "Ar-ry...Ro-n...Gin-ny..."
Ginny dropped to her knees, on the other side of the bed that George was kneeling beside. "Oh, Hermione! I'm so happy you're back. You don't know how - I'm just happy you're here."
What did Ginny mean by that? Here? Here, where? For a moment of time, the whirling buzz of voices fell away as she looked out over the heads of her friends to the curtains bordering full length windows. They were blue curtains. With enchanted dragons zooming across the folds, chasing each other and shooting out bouts of flames. Charlie would love them.
Her gaze was soon caught by something flying around outside her window. It appeared to be a sign - a wizard one. For a second it blurred, but she blinked, and it came into focus. It twirled and whirled, twisted, shrunk and enlarged, sparkled and displayed every color imaginable. It was an advertisement displaying the words 'St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.'
'That was definitely a wizarding hospital. So why was she, Hermione Granger, in a wizarding hospital?'
She opened her mouth to question her audience, and was promptly thrown into a sudden fit of coughing, forcing her to realize just how dry her throat was. Careful to speak around the rasp in her throat, she asked, "Wa-ter? May I please...have water?"
A nurse bustled up, gently requesting the Weasley family to move enough distance away for her to administer a pain reliever and lend assistance to her newly awakened patient with her glass of water. Patients tended to overestimate their strength, especially when they'd not been awake for lengthy periods of time.
Taking her time in sipping from the glass, the outside of which was pleasantly cool on her hands, she reflected on all that she remembered from before her 'accident' and what had been said since she'd awoken.
She could remember graduating, at the top of her class as valedictorian.
She could remember...a memorial service...one in which...everybody was celebrating. Who would have died that would make everybody happy?... Oh right, Voldemort. She could remember not only the service, but the moment of his death. She'd been there. Under polyjuice. She could remember looking down at her arm and seeing the Dark Mark on skin that was unusually light to her eyes; that's right, it hadn't been hers, but Malfoy's. She'd take magically enhanced drugs to fog her mind as well as an accelerated course in occulemency to prevent the Dark Lord from scouring her thoughts. But she'd only been a distraction to remove Lord Voldemort's minions from his immediate presence.
She could remember Harry's wedding soon after - to none other than Ginny Weasley. Hermione could remember the honor of being chosen godmother to their first child, a curly black haired little girl with a charming laugh, born 11 months later.
She could remember her work...as an Auror; she thought she remembered working on a task in Egypt and red hair, but she didn't think it was Bill's.
She could remember something...vague...about Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
She could remember something...something that flashed before her eyes no clearer than anything that she saw from her peripheral vision - something, or somebody rather with chubby cheeks and large, adorable eyes that twinkled with laughter. Hermione thought she saw two such cherubs but the second looked so similar to the first she thought she must just be seeing double.
More people flooded into the room then, including Mrs. Weasley and selected members of the Order. Mrs. Weasely, in tears, flew to Hermione's side as the Nurse quietly lifted the cup from Hermione's hands and left the room in a brisk, yet polite walk.
Mrs. Weasley sniffed one more time, using a handkerchief in an attempt to quell her tears before she managed out her words, "Her-Hermione, dear, do...do you remember," she looked to her left at her son, before hastily changing her words, "Wh-what do you remember?"
Hermione faltered; what did she remember? As opposed to forgotten? She wouldn't know she'd forgotten it though, would she? Perhaps she should just start...at the beginning. "My name is Hermione Jane Granger. I was born to Claire Vanessa Anne Granger and Daniel Thomas Granger; both are dentists as well as muggles. I grew up, in England, as such - a muggle, I mean. It was...shocking for me to receive my first Hogwarts letter, though I can't claim I wasn't pleased..." She paused, "I think I remember everything through my school years...First year - the philosopher's stone, second year - the chamber of secrets opened and I was...I was petrified, and then third year with that horrible time turner, but we saved Sirius...oh no Sirius...and the Ministry...that was fifth year and seventh year...we graduated and I was Valedictorian..."
She turned to look at George, whose hand was resting on her shoulder, "Hermione, lo-" he seemed to choke on the word, and with a quick jerk of his head, struggled on, "Mione, do you remember...after school?"
"We defeated Voldemort, didn't we? Harry and Ron and I? and then Harry...Harry where..." He appeared at the end of her bed, making it unnecessary for her to finish her question, so she asked a new one. She wanted to be sure of that memory. To make sure it hadn't been wishful thinking, "Harry, you and Ginny, you're married?" When he nodded, and she noted the tenderness with which his hand was entwined with his wife's, she pressed on, "And Aerin?" A contended smile in return, from them both.
"I'm an Auror now, aren't I?" Given the positive response she'd gotten to her other memories, she was unsettled by the nervous silence answering her latest statement.