Harry stared at his old friend, seeing nothing but honest bewilderment in her eyes.
"Draco Malfoy. As in, your fiancé Draco Malfoy?" he enquired disbelievingly.
"Fiancé? Don't be silly, Harry. Do you see me as the marrying kind?"
"Well, no." Harry had to admit. "I never have." He turned his head at the sound of feet behind him and saw a squad of Aurors, on their way to take over from those on guard at the scene. And at their head was… Oh, Merlin.
"Dawlish?" he called. The older Auror looked up, his habitual scowl replaced with an even deeper one as he saw Harry, who he had taken a deep dislike to.
"What?" grunted Dawlish, charming as ever.
Harry took a deep breath and reined in his temper. "Could you please ask Neville to get me a Healer? As quickly as possible, please."
Dawlish rolled his eyes, but nodded. Harry watched him go, shouting at and bullying the six younger Aurors under his command. He was secure in the knowledge that, much as Dawlish hated him, the vindictive man wouldn't dare to ignore his request, or he could be on a charge of withholding evidence and obstructing an investigation, which came under perverting the course of justice- a very serious offence that would definitely result in the loss of his job, and possibly a spell in Azkaban.
Sure enough, within five minutes Cho was back, rubbing her eyes and doing her best to hold back a yawn. "Harry," she complained. "I was hoping to get home tonight."
"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that Hermione here seems to have a slight memory problem."
Cho sighed. "Great." She muttered to herself, opening her ever-present black bag and digging through its contents, tossing various intricate instruments onto the stained table. Harry just saved one from falling into his drink. Finally, she produced a slim silver object that resembled a telescope. She unfolded this instrument and twisted both ends, causing it to click and begin to emit a pale blue light. Putting her eye to one end, she brushed Hermione's hair back and set the other end of the instrument to her forehead. She spent several minutes moving the tube around on the pale skin of Hermione's head- it all reminded Harry of an ultrasound scan. Finally, she folded up the telescope and tossed it back into her bag, causing a crash that made Harry wince.
"Memory loss is limited to a six-month period, and has been caused by a spell which is part of a branch of Dark Magic. It can possibly be removed by a skilled Healer." She stood up and flicked her wand, sending all her tools flying back into her bag. "And now I'm going home. Take her to St. Mungo's."
