Chapter 7
There was one customer in the shop when Draco arrived just before closing. The girl had her back to Draco as she stood in front of Hermione. All he saw was a slim figure and black hair. But something about her seemed familiar. He caught Hermione's eye and smiled. She returned it and murmured something to the girl, who turned to glance at him. The raven-haired girl smiled a friendly smile as if she recognized him as well. The two women closed the short distance between them and him, and Hermione greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Derek, this is my friend, Pansy Parkinson," she said, hoping the sight of an old friend would trigger a good memory that had been taken from him. Hermione watched as they shook hands and exchanged greetings.

Draco looked at Pansy curiously, as if trying to place her. "It's nice to meet you," he told her, giving up hope of placing her.

Pansy flashed him a brilliant smile and said, "You too. Derek, was it?" Draco nodded and released her hand when he realized he still held it. She turned to her friend and spoke in a volume low enough for only Hermione to hear. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I want details."

The couple silently watched Pansy leave before Hermione locked the door behind her. Turning around, she leaned her back against it and smiled at Draco. But he seemed perturbed as she watched him. "How do you know her?" he asked as his eyes darted around the shop.

Hermione cleared her throat. "We went to school together," she explained. "Honestly, we hated each other back then. And then, about a year after school was over, we ran into each other. Literally. It was in the 'Military History' aisle."

"And you've been friends ever since?" he inquired, sounding a bit more than skeptical.

There were things Hermione omitted - the death of Pansy's father, the parents she had lost after having the memory charm reversed, the fact that both women cried at the sight of one another. They had talked for hours in her office after the run-in, exchanging tales of woe and making apologies for past transgressions. Then they became friends.

"Pretty much," Hermione said in reply. She grabbed a stack of books to be shelved and moved to the appropriate aisles; all the while Draco followed behind. "I guess we just realized we had more in common than we thought."

He took half the stack and silently began shelving books. The woman - Pansy - seemed to trigger something within him. What it was, though, he couldn't seem to put his finger on. There had been an instant feeling of comfort when he shook her hand. Compassion had shone in her dark blue eyes as she smiled at him. It was almost as if she were a long lost friend who'd come back into his life.

"Do you think I know her?" he asked, cringing when he heard the words reverberate back into his ears.

A book fell from Hermione's hand and she bent to pick it up. Her hair obscured the shocked expression she wore, and she prayed Draco hadn't seen the way her eyes widened upon hearing his question. When she pushed her hair behind her ear she noticed Draco had knelt down beside her.

"What happened?" she asked softly. "I mean, do you know how you lost your memories?"

Draco shifted into a seated position, his legs stretched out in front of him and his back against the rows of books. "All I remember is waking up in a hospital. The doctors asked me question after question. Who I was, where I lived, what the year was. And I didn't have a single answer. The ID in my wallet was the only thing anyone had to go on. I had a name, a birth date, and nothing else.

"They released me two weeks later," he continued, pushing a hand through his hair. "There was a nurse who looked after me who had a friend with a cheap flat for rent. She'd been there when I was brought in, and I guess she felt sorry for me. The friend with the flat also knew that the Pink Dragon was looking for a bartender, so he sent me there a few weeks after I moved in."

"And no one ever..." She couldn't find her voice long enough to finish her question.

Draco shook his head. "I waited. Every day I was in the hospital, and the door would open, I prayed it was my parents or a friend. Just anybody who could give me some answers. No one's ever come. For two years, I've walked around hoping that some strange face in the crowd would stop me and tell me everything." He heard Hermione shift beside him and felt her arms tangle around his left bicep before her head rested on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, her voice sounding choked up with tears. And it wasn't just for what he'd gone through; it was also an apology for the guilt she felt. She had the power to tell him everything, but he'd probably think her crazier than he thought himself. Ron's warning played in her mind - pretend you know nothing.

"I had another dream last night," he told her, resting his head atop her own. "It was a good one this time. You and I were flying over a...I don't know, football field or something. We were on a broom like a couple of witches, or whatever the male equivalent is. You were so scared that you held onto me tightly. But when I finally got you to open your eyes and see the stars above us, it was magical."

Hermione's head snapped up, bumping Draco's as she stared at him with wide eyes. She heard him groan and ignored the pain in her own head. It wasn't a memory, but was still a glimpse of what his life as wizard could have been. Oftentimes, when he talked about his dreams she wondered if there was more that he held back. It would have been a relief to know that they were in the same boat as there was so much she hid from him.

Draco chuckled. "Sometimes it feels weird when I tell you stuff like this," he said. "But I tell you anyway, all of it."

His words did nothing to mollify guilt. Instead of replying, she rested her head against his shoulder once more. She wondered how much longer she could get away with being with him. Three years was the most optimistic bet. If all went well, in three years' time Derek would be Draco again. But if the spell could be reversed somehow, she'd lose him sooner than that.

Strong feelings had developed between the pair in such a short amount of time that Hermione wondered if it would be better to cut ties sooner rather than later. It would hurt, surely, but it would be worse three years down the line. Tomorrow, she would talk to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, and plead Draco's case. But tonight, tonight was for Hermione and Derek.