Disclaimer:No, I still don't own Harry Potter...or Draco Malfoy much to my dismay:(
anything you recognize doesn't belong to me.

"Draco," said Hermione, picking up the book she had been searching through, "Draco, I think I've found something. Look at this." She placed the book in front of Draco and he began to read. As he read on though, the smile that had been there began to fade.

'The Amantes Charm, originally founded and used in Portugal, is a very complex and dangerous memory charm that witches and wizards used to use to keep their memories from being discovered if they were captured by an enemy. This charm was ideal for a time because it did not hide memories in the mind of the one who performed the charm, but in their lovers mind instead. This was done without the knowledge of the recipient, and even the caster of the charm could not be entirely sure as to who their memories would go to. The caster's memories would go to the person with whom they were in love with at the time of the casting. The memories can be transferred back only through a kiss performed in love. The Amantes Charm was outlawed in 1786 because of the extreme risks in using it. If the recipient of the memories was to die while in possession of the memories; the memories can never be recovered. It was outlawed after a great deal of the magical community lost their memories permanently when the recipients were killed in various wars.'

"So all I have to do is find the person I was in love with," said Hermione brightly.

"'Mione," he said slowly, drawing her attention, "I don't know how to say this-"

"What?" she asked cautiously.

"You were engaged to Ron Weasley," he said, glancing at the floor.

"Were?" she asked. "What do you mean by 'were'? We broke the engagement?"

"I mean were," he replied, bringing his gaze back to Hermione. "Ron is dead. He was killed shortly after you were captured." As the meaning of Draco's words sank in, Hermione's eyes filed with tears, her vision blurring.

"So what? I can never get them back?" she voiced unsteadily. "I'll never remember anything?" Draco shook his head and the unshed tears spilled over, falling unheeded to the floor. She shook her head faintly and ran.

She ran out of the library, hearing Draco's footsteps faintly beyond her own grief. She didn't know where she ran, she didn't care. What did it matter that she was free? She could never get her memories. She would never remember her friends, her fiancée. She would always be an empty shell, never knowing what everyone else was talking about from their past years. She heard Draco call out for her to stop, but she didn't heed his words until she felt the pressure of Draco's grasp around her wrist and she had to stop.

"Please Mione," she heard him say quietly, "please, don't do this to yourself. I don't know what its like to lose all of your memories, but I do know what its like to lose something you love. Its pure agony, and nobody should have to go through that alone, least of all you."

"Draco," sobbed Hermione, "you don't understand! I will never remember my past. I will see faces and people that I recognize, but I won't know their names. And I'm going to have to take everyone's word for everything. I mean, I don't even remember having a fiancée. People are going to get sick of telling me what it was that we did in sixth year, and they're going to cast me aside for someone who will actually remember them. Nobody will care about me in a year once they find out that I can't remember-"

"You're wrong," he said. "Someone will always care."

"You can't know that."

"Yes, I can," replied Draco.

"How?" she challenged. "I'll bet almost everyone has already forgotten I even existed. I'm just another person who was captured!"

"No, you're not," said Draco sternly. "And I know that someone will always care because I will always care."

"Draco-"

"No, I'm going to finish," he said. "You wanted to know this. I've only lost two people that I've ever loved. But they were the first and last people that I ever cared for. One was my mother, who Voldemort killed. The other person was an accident. I was never supposed to care for her, and I most certainly was not supposed to fall in love with her. But when I did, I swore that I would protect her. I always thought about her. I always comforted her when she cried; I gave her advice when she talked about how her boyfriend upset her. I watched her go as she got engaged, even helping to plan the wedding. I thought that as long as she was happy, I could be happy as well.

"And then," he continued, "then she was captured by Voldemort, and I couldn't do anything for her. One of her best friends forbid that I go to save her. And do you know what the worst part of it was?" he asked. "The worst part is that she was captured rescuing me."

"Draco, please, you don't have to-"

"And then she got away," said Draco gently, cutting her off, "and I was so happy. I was even able to help her this time." he locked Hermione's eyes with his steely gaze and Hermione found herself unable to look away from him. "She didn't remember much. She probably doesn't even remember how we became friends or all the time we spent together. But she was safe, and that was all that mattered. That is, until she found out that she would never remember anything. And then, she said the one thing that could really hurt me. Do you know what she said Hermione?" he asked. Hermione was stunned into silence and Draco went on.

"She told me that nobody would care," he said. "After three years of watching you with someone else, knowing I could never have you, helping to plan your wedding with another man, being in love with you all the while, and over a year of being in constant turmoil, knowing that you were probably being tortured because if me, hoping and praying that you were still alive. Do you think that I'm going to forget you so easily?"

Hermione shook her head as new tears stung at her eyes. She didn't even know what he had gone through and she had said all those things. How is must have felt to hear the one person you love most in the world tell you that you didn't care. She wiped away the tear that was slowly making its way down her cheek and tried to stop what would soon be a steady flow of them.

"It's okay to cry," said Draco softly as he pulled her into his warm embrace. "I'll stay with you. Cry all you want." he conjured a sofa and led her to it, they sat down. Hermione leaned into Draco and let loose all the tears that she had been holding in for over a year. The tears of sorrow, rage and pain flowed freely, landing in the soft folds of Draco's shirt as Hermione's heavy eyes drifted closed, Draco's words echoing in her mind

I'm not going to leave you.