Ch 9 Mind Wipe
"Hey Hermione," Harry grinned as he watched her try to slip into the common room unnoticed. "I heard you ran out in the middle of Charms today. Any particular reason?" He was laughing now. He had heard the story from her surprised classmates and was pretty sure he knew what had happened.
"It's not funny, Harry!" she grumbled, moving her way into the room and collapsing on the couch next to him. "You try sitting through class when all you can think about is how much you want to..." she stopped abruptly and blushed.
"How much you want to what?" he asked, sporting an extremely Malfoy-worthy smirk.
"Oh, nothing!" she snapped exasperated. "Can we just talk about something else?"
"No, no. I'm sorry. That wasn't very nice of me. I'll behave," Harry said tossing an arm around her shoulders. "Now, what happened today?" he asked.
"You know what happened. The potion got the best of me and I had to leave class to go find Malfoy," she said in a defeated voice.
"Did you find him?" Harry asked tentatively. He could already tell her answer from the shamed look on her face.
"Yes," she murmured.
"Oh, well that's good at least," he stumbled over his words. Was that good?
"Good? How, on any realm of existence, would that be good?" she asked angrily.
"Well," he paused, "it satisfied your relapse, I expect. And you didn't have to traipse around crazed for too long." He remembered how she'd acted at the quidditch match. "Also, I haven't heard about this from anyone else, so it seems no one knows but us," he concluded. He was quiet after that, trying to gauge her reaction.
"I suppose you're right," she admitted after a while. "It could have been a lot worse." She pictured what would have happened if she hadn't been able to find Malfoy; or worse, if someone had seen what they'd been up to in the trophy room.
"This has to stop!" she announced suddenly. "I have to get Malfoy to take that Mind Wipe with me. It's too bad it is so complicated. I'll have to brew it over the holidays so I can do it properly," she said. She wasn't paying attention to Harry anymore and was working out a solution her head. "Yes, it takes a long time to get right and a lot of attention. I won't be able to do it while I have classes," she muttered.
"Eh, Hermione," Harry interrupted. "Don't you think you should brew the potion before Christmas break?" he asked.
"Why do say that?"
"Because, what happens if you are at home and you have a relapse? You won't be able to find Malfoy and you could hurt someone. Not to mention that you live in a muggle neighborhood and you could easily use magic in front of one of them."
"Oh you're right!" Hermione exclaimed. "I hadn't even thought about that! I guess I'll have to start working on it sooner than I planned." She stood up and headed towards the door. "I need to do some more research," she explained as she left through the portrait hole.
"I'll see you later then?" Harry called after her. What a spaz, he thought.
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Hermione marched purposefully up to the library and found the book that contained the directions for the potion. In her previous research, she'd discovered several variations of the Mind Wipe and chosen the one with the most readily available ingredients. With her new time constraints, she was going to have to pick one of the more exotic varieties.
After combing the pages and comparing the different types Hermione settled on one that was both manageable and carried a shorter brewing time. The only downfall was that it required the addition of an extremely rare accelerant, basilisk scales. On her own, they would be nearly impossible to find, but she knew that she had seen some in Snape's personal stores. I'll just have to break in there and get them she concluded. It's not like I haven't done it before.
Hermione waited until half past six before heading down to the potions classroom. She assumed everyone would be in the Great Hall having dinner, but still kept her guard up. She gripped her wand tightly in her hand and wound through the maze of dungeons. Her first instinct had been to do this at night, but all the classrooms would be locked at curfew and Snape had a reputation for securing his room with more complex spells than a simple "Alohamora," could handle.
She arrived at the door and pressed her ear up to it to make sure it was empty before entering. Hearing nothing, she pulled the door open a crack and slipped inside letting it close silently behind her.
"And what do you think you're doing?" came the smooth voice of Professor Snape.
Shit, shit, shit! Hermione froze in place, her back to the potions master. He must have been at his desk. Why didn't I notice him? She prepared to face him, her explanation on the tip of her tongue. I misplaced my book and I thought I might have left it here, she rehearsed.
"Ten points from Hufflepuff!" he declared.
Hufflepuff? She wondered as she turned around. She was shocked to find that although he was at his desk, he was sound asleep. His head rested on a stack of what appeared to be student parchments. A candle stood burnt to the nub on the edge of his desk.
"Insufferable mental-midgets," he mumbled as he scratched is nose and placed his thumb in his mouth.
Snape talks in his sleep? She wondered, her breathing beginning to return to normal.
Snape sucks his thumb? She began to laugh, only just managing to hold it back. If only I had a camera! She silently wished and almost considered 'accio-ing' hers, but decided that could draw unwanted attention. She concentrated very hard on taking a mental picture. I am going to have to get a pensieve for this, she thought. Harry and Ron would love to see it.
Thinking quickly, she cast a sleeping spell on him. She couldn't risk him waking up right now. That will buy me at least 20 minutes, she estimated as she quickly turned towards the potions stores.
There was no reason to be quiet anymore, Snape was here and debilitated. She lit her wand and confidently walked up to the door aiming it at the lock. Curiously, she decided to try opening it by hand first, and to her surprise, it swung open. I guess Snape didn't get a chance to lock it yet, she thought as she hurried inside and gathered the scales. I'm a little low on asphodel, belladonna, and hellebore too, she laughed as she collected the other ingredients. She didn't mind stealing from Snape. He was such an utter bastard.
On her way out of the classroom, she considered ending his suspended sleep but decided against it. She didn't care if the spell lasted all night. Someone will find him eventually, she thought as she strolled up the corridor towards the Great Hall. I might even be able to catch the end of dinner; she cackled evilly and congratulated herself on a job well done.
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Hermione spent the next three days working on the potion. She was surprised at how easily it all came together. On Sunday morning she awoke early and put the finishing touches on the brew. Today was going to be a day that would change her life. She would no longer have to live in fear of becoming aroused and having irresponsible sex with a near-stranger.
She headed down to breakfast feeling a little apprehensive. She knew she wanted to stop the relapses, but at the cost of suppressing some of her memories? It was weird to think that tomorrow she wouldn't remember worrying about this. The potion was very particular and would erase any memory that linked to the one she was trying to forget. If the potion worked correctly, not only would she forget the act itself but also everything related to it. Every conversation she'd had about it, her hospital visits, her detention…everything would be gone. This was a huge commitment and she wondered if she really wanted to do it.
She thought about Malfoy. Would he want this? She wondered if she should tell him all the facts and let him decide for himself. Who am I kidding? She thought. The less time I give him, the more likely he'll be to agree. If she gave him days to think about it, he would probably chicken out.
When she reached the Great Hall, she was surprised to see Ron and Harry already having breakfast.
"What are you two doing up so early on a Sunday?" she asked seating herself next to Ron.
"We have quidditch practice at ten," Harry explained. "What are your plans for the day?" Both boys turned their eyes to her expectantly.
"I'm going to get Malfoy to take that potion with me today," she said resignedly.
"Oh really?" Ron laughed. "And how are you going to do that?"
"Well, I am going to ambush him after his prefect duties and make him take it with me. I figure, if he says no, I'll just bait him into it by asking if his refusal is due to some sort of hidden infatuation. He'll be sure to agree just to prove me wrong," she announced assuredly. Obviously, she had spent some time on this.
"Good luck with that," Ron snorted as he shoveled in another forkful of his breakfast. The trio fell into a comfortable silence after that; each lost in their own thoughts.
"There's something I need from the two of you," Hermione stated unexpectedly.
"Sure, what is it?" Harry agreed to the open ended request.
"Well, it's a little odd…but I need you to make a Wizard's Oath to never bring up what happened with me and Malfoy. You can't even mention anything relating to it either, unless, for some reason, I remember and bring it up myself," she said, giving both boys a meaningful stare. "This is extremely important to the success of the potion. Since I won't remember anything happening with Malfoy, it will be very confusing if either of you mention it," she continued.
"Hmm, I suppose we could do that," Harry started, "right Ron?" He didn't like the sound of this. Wizards' Oaths were permanently binding and usually only caused more bad than good. He trusted Hermione, but he was worried that someday she might want to know what happened to her and why there were gaps in her memory. If he took a Wizard's Oath now, he wouldn't be able to help her later.
"Yeah mate, I guess so," Ron answered. It seemed he was a little wary himself. "Are you sure this is a good idea Hermione?"
Harry was relieved that Ron had spared him the trouble of asking Hermione this himself.
"Of course, it's a good idea. I can't go around shagging Malfoy for the rest of my life," both boys cringed at the image, "and since this is the only way to make the relapses stop, I have to do what I have to do," she huffed ignoring their twin grimaces. "Honestly, it's not even that big of a deal. I'll only be forgetting a few choice events and thoughts. It's not like it will make that much of a difference," she smiled now.
Her confidence convinced the boys and they both reluctantly agreed to take the oath. They recited their promise and touched their wands to hers, sealing the deal.
"Alright well, we have to get a move on," Harry said standing up. "Good luck today, Hermione!" He circled towards the door and started walking away.
Ron stood up to follow but stopped suddenly. "Be careful, Hermione," he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders from behind and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you later," he whispered as he turned and followed Harry out of the hall.
What's gotten into him? She wondered as she watched his retreating back. Ron hadn't so much as hugged her since their failed attempt at dating and here he was kissing her? This was really strange. Maybe this potion thing is more dangerous than I thought.
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Hermione spent the rest of the morning in her room bottling the potion and reading over the instructions on proper dosage. At two o' clock Hermione cleaned up all evidence of the potion and hid the book under a large stack of others that needed to be returned to the library. She didn't need any reminders later that could cause her to investigate. She idly wondered if Malfoy would have anything around that needed to be hidden before he took the potion. After all, she wasn't even giving him a chance to tell his friends never to bring her up again. I don't think that will be a problem, she decided. It didn't seem like his friends would bring her up anyway since he had a new girlfriend. It was better if he just forgot about her abruptly. That way no one would even think to mention her again.
After coming to these conclusions, she made her way down to the dungeons. She had checked the prefects schedule earlier and learned that Malfoy was assigned to tutoring 1st years in the library until 2:15. That gave her just enough time to sneak into one of the empty rooms near the Slytherin entrance and wait.
At 2:25, Hermione was starting to get impatient. Where is he? She wondered, her confidence waning. I should have brought the Marauder's Map, she thought kicking herself for her foolishness.
Just then, the sound of footsteps rang loudly in the stone corridor. She peeked through the crack in the door and saw it was Malfoy and thankfully, he was alone. He was carrying a handful of books and wearing a bored expression. Hermione paused for a moment watching him. It wasn't often that she got to see how he acted when he was alone. He stopped suddenly and Hermione sucked in a surprised breath. Can he see me? she worried, but he just bent down to tie his loose shoe laces. He began whistling and Hermione smiled. He had never looked so real before.
All too quickly, he was back on his feet and heading right past her door. Hermione swallowed the dry lump in her throat and leapt out of the room in front oh him.
"Get in here!" she ordered as she grabbed his arm and began pulling him to the empty room. She hadn't thought of how she was going to ambush him, and was a little embarrassed by the desperate sound of her voice.
"Wow Granger, so soon?" he smirked, allowing her to drag him along. "Well, okay," he said as he dropped his books on a desk and began unbuttoning his shirt.
"What? Malfoy, no!" Hermione blushed realizing his meaning as she pulled his hands away from his collar. "This isn't like that!" she snapped angrily. She was more mad at herself for getting into this awkward situation than at him. Of course he would think she wanted sex. Why else would she haul him in here?
"Well, if you don't want to fuck, what do you want?" he asked impatiently. Clearly he didn't want to waste anymore of his time talking to her if he wasn't going to get laid.
"Ugh," Hermione scoffed, disgusted by his language. "It just so happens that I've found a solution to our problem," she stated, retrieving two potions vials from her bag. "It's a potion that will get rid of the memories of our…erm…relations, and in so doing, eliminating the relapses," she explained uncomfortably.
"Relations?" Draco chuckled. He was obviously enjoying her embarrassment. "And how does this potion work?" he wanted to know.
"Well, it's simple really. We both have to remember all of the events that we want to forget and then concentrate on them before taking the potion. After ingesting it, we will have half an hour to get somewhere safe before we temporarily lose consciousness. Once we wake up, seemingly from a nap, we will be cured. We won't even remember having this conversation," she explained as calmly as she could. It was strange being this close to Malfoy without being in the midst of a relapse.
"And why would I want to do that?" he asked smirking again. "Maybe I like those memories. Maybe I keep them safely secured in my Spank-Bank ready to use anytime I need them," he laughed, leaning in to her. "Maybe I like the prospect of future... 'relations'," he whispered and let his fingers brush against her cheek.
Hermione stared into his clear pale eyes and felt that maybe she too liked that particular prospect.
"But then again," he said turning away from her and laughing loudly. "I don't need anymore horribly embarrassing public-displays-of-affection towards you. It's best to take care of this now. I mean, who knows what could happen after Hogwarts. I can't be running off to bed you any time I get a hard-on."
"Yes, that's exactly why we need to take this potion," Hermione ground out, embarrassed by her reaction to his touch.
"How about just one more shag, for old time's sake?" he asked turning around to face her. "We won't remember it anyway, so why not?"
"Malfoy, no," Hermione answered quickly. He was making her very nervous and she knew she needed to get this over with as soon as possible. It was already taking all of her self control to not give in. "Let's just take the potion and be done with it," she mumbled handing him a vile and stepping away.
"Okay, just be quiet and concentrate on what you need to forget. Remember to include conversations you've had about it, detentions…everything," she ordered as she closed her eyes and began to think.
Malfoy rolled his eyes but sat down on a desk and complied. His mind jumped quickly to that first day in the Great Hall. He remembered how strange the sensation of longing had seemed at the time. Now it was almost second nature. He remembered kissing her in front of everyone and then carrying her down to the invisible stables behind the greenhouses.
Hermione was already past that first experience and was thinking about the awkward hospital visit that followed. She was glad that she wouldn't have to visit there anytime soon.
Malfoy was remembering the fight he'd had that same day with Weasley and how surprised he'd been that Ron hadn't attacked him.
Soon, both teens were thinking about the most recent rendezvous they'd shared only a few days ago. Hermione started breathing heavily as she remembered the relief she'd felt when he'd taken her. Malfoy was suffering from a similar reaction and was itching to stand up and recreate the scene in his mind.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Malfoy that made the first move. Before he'd even had a chance to do so, Hermione was straddling his lap, kissing him. He wrapped both of his arms around her and stood up shifting her around, so that he was standing in between her legs while she sat on the desk.
Her hands flew to his shirt, where she began undoing the buttons that he had started earlier.
"We can't forget to take the potion after this," Hermione breathed as she continued to undress him.
The potion, Malfoy thought suddenly, realizing it was still gripped in his right hand. He stared at it as he thought of all the reasons that he needed to take it. He saw his father's disapproving eyes, his girlfriend's heartbroken face, and his own future happiness at stake.
"Fuck it," he said in a moment of unintentional clarity as he pulled away from Hermione and downed the potion in one swallow. He handed her the empty vial and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before leaving the room.
Hermione sat dazed for a few moments before she too drank her potion and headed up to her room.
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Thanks for the reviews and for sticking with my story!
