Hermione's POV
She was looking down on a scene. There were students, lots of them, in front of the hat. Then she heard a name.
Hermione Granger.
Then it changed. She was looking at several bottles and a piece of parchment. Then the scene kept changing. She saw herself in the great hall cheering. Then she was growing a cat tail. She was looking at a snake in a mirror. She was trying to fight a dementor. She was dancing at the Yule Ball with Viktor. She was crying. She was running in the hall of prophecies. She was looking at Harry and a dead Dumbledore.
Then the scene changed once more.
Everything around her was a white that stretched on for miles. Apart from a beige tent. She went inside.
Harry and Ron were talking. She moved closer so that she could hear
"She's never coming back, Ron"
"I know." They both suddenly turned to her. They stood up and started walking towards her.
Harry growled. "All this month we've been putting up with you, but what's the point? You're never coming back."
Ron then continued "Why would we want to put up with a weak little girl who can't remember anything. She may as well be dead."
They started laughing like maniacs. They had cornered her now. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
"Harry, Ron, it's me, Hermione."
"You will never be our Hermione."
Hermione Granger woke up with a scream.
She stared around her for a few seconds, not sure where she was. Then it came back to her. She was in St. Mungo's. She had been ever since the war.
Or so they said, because it was a war that she couldn't remember.
Ron's POV
Ron Weasley woke up to a scream coming from next door.
Hermione.
He rushed out of bed and ran into her room to find her sitting up, pale and shaking.
"Was it the dream?" he asked.
She just nodded. Ron sighed and came to sit on the end of the bed. She had the same dream almost every night. It had been this way ever since that stupid war.
Flashback
Ron ran down the corridor as fast as his legs could carry him.
The war had ended the day before, Voldemort was dead, they had won, and everything was right.
Except for one thing.
Hermione.
He remembered it clearly. It was the final battle. He had been running towards Hermione. She had been duelling a death eater. She wasn't looking. Another death eater came behind her back and cursed her. He remembered her falling. He remembered screaming her name.
He remembered his heart breaking.
He skidded to a stop in front of a white door and barged in. Two people looked at him. One was Harry; the other was an unknown doctor. She smiled and gestured to a seat next to Harry.
Ron sat down. He was tired from staying awake to make sure that he didn't miss any news on Hermione's health. His legs were aching from constantly pacing up and down for hours. But this was it. The moment that he had been waiting for. The moment that they found out.
The doctor started talking. "I am Doctor Jenna Wilson and I am in charge of looking after Miss Hermione Granger. It is good news and bad news. The good news is that she is alive, and awake right now. The bad news is that her memory is damaged."
Ron sank lower in his seat. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be. If she had lost her memory then she might not remember them. She might not remember their relationship.
She might not remember his love for her.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Harry's small, croaky whisper.
"How badly?"
"The last thing that she remembers is professor Dumbledore's funeral. It is not permanent, but it will take a long time for her to remember."
End of flashback
It had been six months, and nothing had changed.
Ron was pulled out of his thoughts when a nurse entered the room and came over to Hermione.
He gave her a last smile and a quick hand squeeze and left the room, knowing that she was in good hands.
Hermione's POV
Hermione was annoyed with them. They would tell her nothing.
After the war they told her the very basics, but that was it. She could see it in their faces, no matter how much they tried to mask it.
They were hiding something.
They probably didn't realise it, but it hurt Hermione more than it did her good. She couldn't remember anything, and what they weren't telling her could be the key to unlocking her memories.
It was breaking her. They were treating her like a china doll, not a person. Like she would shatter with the slightest pressure. She hated it.
But there was something different about Ron. Beneath the anger, there was something else. When he was around, she was happier. When he held her hand, her heart leapt. It was like her heart was remembering what her head couldn't.
She knew that it was a strong feeling, but she didn't know what.
She came out of her thoughts when she heard a door close. Realising that she was alone, she lay back down and went back to sleep.
Hermione woke up to see Ron and Harry enter her bedroom holding and cake and presents, but she didn't know why. Then it clicked.
It was her birthday.
The day was a blur. She saw a lot of people – some that she didn't even know. They kept thanking her for saving some random strangers life, but she didn't know how she did it. She was polite, spoke with the people, and thanked them for the presents, but her heart wasn't in it.
At around 9 o'clock, everyone finally left. Hermione looked back on the day. It had been quite fun, but listening to random strangers talk about things that she couldn't remember could be quite tedious.
She let her mind wander and she found herself thinking about Ron. That feeling had become even stronger. When he held her hand, her heart leapt even higher.
Then she remembered what the feeling was.
Love.
Ron's POV
Finally, Ron and Harry left Hermione so that she could get some rest. They walked along the corridors in silence until Harry spoke up.
"She's too quiet these days."
"I know."
They continued to walk in silence until Harry spoke up again.
"Are you okay mate?"
Ron tried to say yes, but he couldn't. The full force of what had happened suddenly came down on him and he couldn't take it anymore. He broke down completely. Harry tried to comfort him, but it was no good
"Ron, listen to me. I know you're upset about what happened; we all are. But it's been six months now, you have to learn to forget the old Hermione and come to accept the new one."
Anger started to boil up inside of Ron, how he could just say that about his best friend, he doesn't care!
"You don't understand! You don't' and you never will! You have Ginny and you can go on living your life happily with her! But I can't do that! I loved Hermione and she will never know that she once loved me! You don't know how this feels!"
"Ron, I-"
"I don't want to hear it! Don't speak to me again! You're not the Harry I used to know."
Ron turned and set off running, tears still streaming down his face. People turned to stare at him, but he didn't care. They all had someone that they could turn to in a time of need. Someone who would listen to and understand them.
How he wished he could have Hermione back, the old Hermione. The one who had loved him. The one who had remembered him.
But he had no one.
He was alone.
Hermione's POV
She was looking down on a scene. There were students, lots of them, in front of the hat. Then she heard a name.
Hermione Granger.
Then it changed. She was looking at several bottles and a piece of parchment. Then the scene kept changing. She saw herself in the great hall cheering. Then she was growing a cat tail. She was looking at a snake in a mirror. She was trying to fight a dementor. She was dancing at the Yule Ball with Viktor. She was crying. She was running in the hall of prophecies. She was looking at Harry and a dead Dumbledore.
Then the scene changed once more.
Everything around her was a white that stretched on for miles. Apart from a beige tent. She went inside.
Ron was sitting on a bench with his back turned to her. He was holding something. He turned round and smiled.
"Hey Mione, come and sit down with me."
Too scared to do anything else, she joined him. She looked at what he was holding. It was a book.
Hermione leaned closer to get a good look when she was sucked into the book with Ron.
She saw herself putting memory charms on her parents, morphing into Harry, escaping at a wedding, hiding in Grimmauld Place, entering the ministry as someone else, camping in a beige tent, Ron leaving, fighting a snake, Ron returning, running from snatchers. All through this, Ron just stood there, holding her hand.
Then the scene changed. People were fighting on the Hogwarts grounds. She saw herself duelling a death eater. She saw another one fire a curse at her. She saw herself fall. Then her vision went black.
Hermione Granger woke with a scream. But this time, it wasn't a scream of terror.
A/N: hope you enjoyed it. This was written for round 9 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.
I own nothing! All rights go to J.K. Rowling!
