Disclaimer: I have borrowed the stories, characters, places and all things magical and wonderful from the phenomenal JK Rowling. Any scenes or situations that you may find similar to your life are merely a coincidence. I will also be borrowing poems, passages and songs that have served as inspiration to me for this stoy.

Ronald Weasley sat, staring at the flickering flames that rested in the fireplace. He was trying to calm himself down. Just a few minutes earlier Hermione stormed out of the Gryffindor common room having engaged in a frustrating, and Ron knew it was pointless, argument. He took deep breaths as he ran his shaky hands through his hair. He had let his emotions get the better of him and was currently trying to push back the thoughts of the possible repercussions of his actions.

"I shouldn't have pushed her." He managed to say.

"Let's not state the obvious," his younger sister, Ginny, snapped. Ron shifted his gaze to her direction and he could tell from her stance that she was far from done talking. "I can't believe you yelled at her. She can't control what's going on. This isn't her fault. And you, the daft prick that you are," her rants were more screams than anything and she reminded him of his mother. It made him cringe. "You know we're supposed to make things as normal as possible for her. And here you are constantly inflicting memories of the past, she's not going to remember just cause you retell it, Ron. And even you aren't oblivious enough to see how uncomfortable it makes her when we talk about the past! But you're so unbelievably selfish."

"Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?" He knew his voice was significantly louder and his tone was nothing short of defensive. "My girlfriend doesn't even know she's my girlfriend! After everything we've been through you'd at least think we'd get a happy ending."

"It's hard on all of us, Ron." Harry said weakly. "Looking at Hermione, it's like seeing an empty body. She's not the same person she was anymore. And it is none of our faults."

The last summer had taken a toll on all of them. It was bad enough that the year before the spent running around searching for Horcruxes. Ron wondered when their lives would ever become normal.

"You'd think after months, we'd be used to this already." He replied sadly.

"You'd think after months you'd get the mediwizards instructions through your thick skull." Ginny replied her eyes still filled with anger.

Ron knew he was at fault. He fought everyday to try to make it easier for her. She was the love of his life and though she couldn't remember who he was it didn't change the fact that despite everything that had happened this is what he asked for. He shuddered as he recalled everything that transpired that day. When they all thought it was over.

"Don't go there, Ronald." He felt her weight sink into the empty space beside him. "Don't think about it anymore."

"It was my fault. If I hadn't wished so hard, if I just had the strength to let her go. It wouldn't be this complicated." He rambled.

"How many times do we have to talk you through this?" His sister's frustration evident, "This was not your fault.t is not as if she's in a vegetated state. She is alive and we're supposed to be there for her every step of the way. Not looking back but going forward every single day. Giving her new memories not imposing old ones. She is still there and I know you boys see it too. But if you keep trying to make her remember things, she is just going to regress from the pressure of trying not to disappoint anyone. You have to let her live and hope that maybe by some miracle she wakes up one day and comes back to us. But right now we have her, as a person, maybe she's missing but she's in there and I can't give up on her because she's my best friend and I know she's fighting like hell to remember and not for herself but for us. And that's the kind of person the old Hermione was. So you boys should not convince yourself that she's anything else. And you've got to fight off whatever doubt is going on with either of you. Fight like hell because that's exactly what she's doing."

Ron knew his sister was crying and this made him extremely uncomfortable. He put his arm around his younger sister willing himself not to cave into the hot tears that were forming at the back of his eyes.

"I thought the fighting was over. Our lives are a goddamn tragedy." He knew that this was foolish of him to verbalize but nothing in his head was making much sense anymore.

"So what are you going to do? Quit?" Ginny looked at him. "After everything she's done, for all of us. Don't you think we owe her that much?"

"No. And although this situation breaks my heart every single day, I am going to fight for her. For as long as my life is driven by the fact that she still walks the earth, she is a constant reminder of my purpose. And one day she'll smile at me with the same light in her eyes and it will be better and everything happening right now, it will be worth it." His sister looked him blankly and he could not read what was going on in her mind. But when she bit her lip he knew he was trying to suppress her laughter. "Great! Now I've made a fool of myself."

"As sweet and as shockingly eloquent that statement was, I can feel my lunch coming back up." Harry said instantly lightening the mood.

"This whole thing has really thrown all of us off." Ron said completely embarrassed that he had just let his heart get the best of him in front of his best mate and his sister.

"You've gone soft… softer." Ginny was no longer trying to suppress her laughter. "But maturity looks good on you, brother. It is just annoying when you let your emotionally retarded side get the best of you constantly."

"I should look for her." Ron stated.

"Give her time." Harry and Ginny said at the same time. They looked at each other and shared a smile.

"That was gross." Ron made a face. "We're so cute, saying the same statements. Get a room."

"We didn't," Harry stammered.

"We weren't even doing anything." Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother. "You're so immature."

Draco looked at Hermione trying to correctly understand what she had asked him.

She could've meant "too " because she couldn't remember anyone and everyone for that matter or if she used "too" because she was asking him is he was supposed to be someone of consequence to her.

The Slytherin in him considered his options. Granted that he had no real friends right now he could use her memory loss and vulnerability to his advantage. But there was something in him tugging him in the other direction telling him the right thing to do would be to come clean.

His mind was on overdrive. How could he actually be considering doing the right thing? It made no sense to him. And yet he stood there looking at her considering his options.

"I'm not following." He replied after what seemed to be ages.

Hermione squinted her eyes as if attempting to assess his emotions. He knew he did an amazing job at being completely unreadable. But the look on her face right now reminded him of the time she had gone up to him and the rest of the Slytherin quidditch team to defend her friends. He had called her a mudblood that day.

"Did I know you before I forgot… uhm… everything?" He could tell she was choosing her words carefully. It was so evident that she was being careful not because she was uncomfortable with the topic but because she knew it made the people around her uneasy.

"Draco Malfoy, I'm no one of consequence to you." He replied humbly.

His response seemed to have triggered something for her.

"Draco," she repeated. "Draco Malfoy." That was the first time he had ever heard her say his first name and without the condescending tone that usually accompanied his last name whenever she addressed him. She tilted her head forward, "It's so strange that there's this tug in my stomach. But I can't make it out."

"Look, we weren't friends. We were nothing short of enemies actually. We hated each other." His honesty shocking him as the words left his mouth. Her tense expression washed away and she looked at him with kind eyes, this threw him.

"Oh," The confusion on her face was evident. "I can't imagine actually hating anyone. But then what do I know? I can hardly remember how to get back to my room here. I suppose you should leave seeing as you hate me." She pulled her chin in. His words were sinking into the girl's head slowly as if she was trying to interpret every single word and how he phrased his statements.

"It would be for the best." He replied coolly and turned his heel.

"Wait!" Her voice was shrill. He looked back at her. "Sorry, I mean, if you hated me, why did you help me earlier?"

Draco arched his eyebrow. It was instinct; he didn't really know what to answer her because if he was going to be completely honest, "There was no reason. I just did it."

"Oh," she blushed slightly feeling embarrassed for insinuating anything. She hadn't meant to. "It's a little frustrating people looking at me like they expect me to know something about them. And you're looking at me and I don't see that. Its strange really."

At this point Draco really didn't know what to say to her anymore. He avoided her gaze and looked at the sun as it started setting. "I should really go. It's a long way back and I have wash up before dinner and everything." His pathetic choice of words was a poor excuse but this was getting awkward.

"It's sunset." She whispered. "I get this weird feeling at sunset."

"Like your dreading that the day is about to end and another shit day is going to start in a few hours?" He grumbled.

"At sunset, for some strange reason, it always feels like I'm on the brink for remembering something, as if I'm on the verge of a breakthrough and my memories are coming back." She said in barely a whisper. "But it never comes. It's really hard, it feels like there's this hole in me and nothing makes sense."

"I'll walk with you back to the castle," Draco informed her. It was not a question. He was not giving her a choice.

She nodded her head. Walking a good distance apart Hermione followed Draco toward their destination.

"It isn't likely you'll get your memory back." That was not a question either.

"It's a lot more complicated than that. You know, with magic involved and everything." She was studying her fingers intently.

"Of course." He replied. "Do you know remember how to apparate?" The walking wasn't helping any and Draco just wanted to get rid of her at the soonest possible time.

"You're not interested in hearing the degree of the damage to my brain." Hermione's tone was exactly how he remembered her voice to be. "But if you must know, for some unexplainable reason, I remember all the lessons and all the books that I've read. That's the only thing that makes sense to me. It is my memories that are shot, my personal experiences. Long story short, I do know how to apparate. But it's a work in progress."

"You see that stone formation up there." Draco pointed, it was where she had punched him square on the nose when they were in third year, and Hermione nodded. "Close your eyes and imagine you're completely surrounded by those stones, standing in the middle with the entrance to the castle behind you. Be as specific as you can and then disapparate."

"It isn't even possible on school grounds. If you read Hogwarts: A History you would know that. Plus, it is dangerous." Hermione said. "I've been reading the guidelines and its really tricky and I don't know if I'm ready yet."

"Forever the bookworm." He rolled his eyes his interest in their conversation went out the window ages ago. "Look, right now there's a glitch. I suppose there were a few mistakes when they repaired the school."

"Impossible, such an error couldn't possibly be overlooked by the professors. Surely Headmistress McGonagall made sure that the anti-apparition spells were perfect."

"Well there's a glitch."

"Unthinkable." Hermione's eyes widened at Draco's statement.

"Don't be so naïve." Draco rolled his eyes. "They're only human." Draco felt nausea wash over him. He could hardly believe that he had just made that statement.

"You should report it." Hermione stated. "If you don't, I will."

"Fine. Report it. Whatever."

"There are perfectly good reasons for the anti-apparition spells."

"And I'm sure you memorize them all. But before you go telling McGonagall about it. I want to know if you have tried to apparate since the whole, uhm, incident?" This conversation was boring Draco. He had almost regretted bringing it up but was determined to get back to his common room. "Close your eyes and focus. The most embarrassing thing that could happen is that when you open your eyes we'll still be standing here."

"And the worst thing that could happen is that my body parts…" She began.

"Suit yourself." He interrupted and with a pop he disapparated to the exact spot that he described to her. He down the hill and saw that she was still staring at the spot that he had been standing earlier. "She's even more pathetic than I am." He muttered to himself and made his way into the castle. As he approached the arch of the entrance he heard a pop. He turned around to find Hermione with her back slightly hunched as if she was trying to protect herself.

"I did it." He heard her breathe a sigh of relief followed by the shuffling of her feet and she ran toward him. "That was amazing!"

"Yay." He replied quietly but sarcastically.

"Thank you," The emotions on her face were nothing but gratitude. "You have no idea what you've just done for me. You made me so angry and somehow pushed me to just get over it." She threw her arms open and he knew she was going to hug him.

He took a step back and put his hands up in front of his chest. "I understand. You're grateful. You never could back down from a challenge. Goodbye, Granger. It's almost dinner time." He knew dinner wouldn't be for a few hours but that didn't matter.

A small smile played on her lips. "Good bye, Draco Malfoy."

"Tragedies happen. What are you gonna do, give up? Quit? No, I realize now that when your heart breaks, you got to fight like hell to make sure you're still alive. Because you are. And that pain you feel? That's life. The confusion and fear? That's there to remind you, that somewhere out there is something better, and that something is worth fighting for." (Nathan Scott, One Tree Hill, Season 2)

A/N: Would love any kind of feedback. Apologies for any grammar and spelling errors. I tried to proofread though. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter, hope it didn't disappoint!