Hermione woke to the sound of her parents' worried voices yelling her name. She felt dizzy and groggy. The light was too bright for her and she wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. "Mum? Dad? What's going on? Why are you yelling?" she asked, dazed.

"Oh, sweetheart, we were so worried!" her mother cradled her in her arms, her father soon joining. She was confused. They were hugging her as if she had been hurt. She suddenly realized she was on the living room floor. "Did I fall?"

"Honey, we don't know. We came home from shopping for you and found you laying here," her father was holding back tears. "You don't remember what happened?"

"No. I don't remember anything," she suddenly realized she was scared. Why was she so scared? "I must have hit my head," she rubbed it, checking for pain. "Guess I'm okay now though," she stood up shakily.

"Sweetie, are you sure?" her mother asked and only let go of her when she nodded.

"Aren't we supposed to go out for your birthday?" she smiled, trying to seem as though she felt perfectly normal. She knew how worried her parents could get. She didn't need anything to bother her mum on her day.

"Of course sweetie," she smiled back.


It had been two days since Hermione had left and Fred was starting to worry. "It's not like her, Gin. She always sends an owl at the very least. What if she's hurt?"

Ginny sympathized for her brother. The pain was so prominent on his face. She was fairly certain the last time she had seen it was when George got his ear cut off and no one knew if he was going to wake up and be alright. She cradled her son in her arms, knowing how worried he must be. If Harry had gone off and didn't send anything she'd be beyond panic. "Fred, I'm sure she's alright. She's tough. She's probably just having fun with her parents and hasn't realized she hasn't owled."

"Ginny, don't you give me that load of bull. I can hear it in your voice. You know this isn't like her."

"Fred, if it'll make you feel better, we'll call her parents. I still have their number. And dad still has a phone at home," she put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go over there and you'll see," she was still trying to reassure herself. She hated to get so worried, but it was true. It was not like Hermione to not send word. Especially with the rise in death eaters reemerging recently. Once they arrived at her parents via the floo network, they were greeted by Mrs. Weasley rushing over to grab James.

"How is my grandson? I've missed you so much!" she held him up and smiled.

"Mum, you saw him three days ago," she rolled her eyes, smiling.

"That's too long to not see my grandbaby!" she defended herself.

"Does dad still have his muggle phone here, mum?" Fred cut them both off, not wanting to wait to hear her voice.

"I believe so. It's in the garage," she responded, confused by his haste. Ginny told her mother she'd explain later as Fred dragged her away.

Ginny dialed the numbers on her phone, putting the receiver to her ear. She had much better phone manners and insisted on doing the calling in case Hermione's parents answered. "Hello, Mrs. Granger?"

Fred stood impatiently tapping his foot as he listened to Ginny's side of the conversation.

"What do you mean?" "How?" "Yes, yes, I think that would be good. Thank you."

Fred felt as if he had been punched in the gut when he saw Ginny's face turn sad as she hung up the phone. "Gin, please tell me she's not hurt," he pleaded.

"I'm not sure," she paused. "I've never heard of anything like it. Her mother says she doesn't remember being a witch," her words hung in her state of confusion.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember?" he was panicking. It was official. He knew he shouldn't have let her go alone. Something happened to her and it was his fault.

"Well, she said that they found her unconscious two days ago. She seemed to be okay but she got really freaked out when she saw the moving pictures of you and her. And when her parents tried to return her wand to her. She also said she found a broken glass bottle. Which sounds like some sort of potion. But I've never heard of a potion that can take away magic."

"She doesn't remember?" he asked slowly, feeling the lump in his throat growing bigger by the second. "Gin, you need to call Harry and Ron. We have to go get her!"

"I know. Her mother said she thinks we should come see her. That maybe it would bring back her memories. She's really worried. She said Hermione will barely come out of her room. She refuses to believe she's a witch. Go tell dad. Maybe he can find something at the ministry. I'm going to send and owl to Harry and Ron. We can all go out there," she stopped and put a hand on her brother's arm. "Fred, it'll be alright. I promise. We'll fix this. We'll get her back," she hugged him, suddenly feeling the tears in her own eyes. It terrified her. The fact that someone could take away all those memories. The thought of losing her best friend. It was so much to take him.

"What about James? We can't take him if there's any kind of risk. You shouldn't even be going," he sniffed. He hated his sister see him cry. He hated crying.

"I'll take him to Bill and Fleur's. He'll be happy to play with Victoire," she responded, knowing that her brother would protect her son with his life, having a small daughter of his own. She knew her mother wouldn't mind taking him, but the burrow had been attacked before. Shell Cottage was as safe a place she could imagine for her son. "I have to go. It's Hermione. She's my best friend."

"Alright. Go take James and we'll all meet back here. Please hurry, Gin. I need to get to her."