AN: I know I have been awful. I think it just about a year between updates at this point, but I should be getting back on track some. This past year has been one I don't expect to repeat. Hopefully, you all will forgive me and keep reading anyway...

Thanks to Animelover1396, sarahmarhanka, and Ascension81 for leaving reviews for the last chapter. I was so glad you enjoyed. (And once again apologize for making you all wait)

Also, to the guest reviewer to Chapter 9: Thanks so much! The vague hints on the history between Draco and Hermione will continue to be vague for a few chapters, but you should get a few big hints in the next two chapters. It does in fact follow the original canon timeline through the books (I have cherry picked aspects of the post-Hogwarts days though admittedly). Your final thought actually hits on a very good question that will be answered in time.

Now back to this current chapter. I don't know that I particularly like this chapter because it is a bit slow, but I think it necessary to have a chapter that a starting groundwork for Hermione before we continue to move on with more information to be revealed through upcoming plot points.

Most everyone still stood around the atrium as they had during the confrontation, except for Blaise who had chased after Draco down the corridor. Ginny shuffled away off to the side to be comforted by her husband. With both arms free, Hermione rearranged her assortment of items again to prevent any of them from falling to the ground. The headmistress and their mysterious late arrival exchanged hushed tones. Thus, leaving Hermione standing awkwardly next to Ron as the others discussed amongst themselves.

Hermione began slightly exasperated. "Is anyone ever going to explain what is actually going on?"

The tips of Ron's ears turned pink. "Um…"

"Honestly, what was all that about?" Hermione gestured towards the doors McLaggen, and the others had just exited.

From a couple of steps away, Harry took on an authoritative and frustrated tone. "That was several Aurors and the Wizengamot attempting to take you in for questioning." He took Ginny by the hand and led her back towards Hermione and Ron.

Hermione continued to level him with her stare. "Was that supposed to clarify anything?"

Harry winced a bit. "Sorry." He used his other hand to rub the back of his neck. "Police and government officials."

She narrowed her eyes in response, both angry and baffled what the authorities of this strange world could want with her. "Why?"

Harry dropped his hand back down to his side. "Because—"

"Oi!" Ron suddenly shouted, and everyone looked at him a bit baffled. "You think we want to do this out of the hall. You know away from the you-know…" He motioned about waist height, "Children."

"Er, right." Harry nervously patted down his hair, before he gestured down the hall with his other hand. "Staff room, yeah?" Harry called over to the headmistress who was still involved in her conversation with the latest arrival off to the side.

The headmistress gave a curt nod before taking the lead back down the corridor. As they passed through the two gargoyles, Hermione took in the modest staff room. There was a large oval table occupying most of the room surrounded by ten mismatched wooden chairs that had all seen better days. The table top was littered with papers about the schedules and rules for the new term. Along the far wall to her right was a roaring fireplace surrounded by several armchairs. A couple of desks and small tables lined the wall to her right. The headmistress walked over and sat at the head of the oval table near the fireplace, leaving her ominously illuminated by its light. The others filed into the room and moved towards the table with hesitant glances back towards Hermione, who lingered. Their latest arrival approached her from the side of the doorway.

He spoke in a deep baritone with politician's smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Oh." Hermione paused to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. "Pleasure." She paused awkwardly before taking his hand to finalize the introduction. She wrapped her hand back around her bundle of collected items and swept her gaze around the room. It seemed that the others watched with somewhat bated breath. Under her gaze, they were shaken out of stupor and shuffled around taking seats around the table. Kingsley gestured for Hermione to take a seat before him, but she paused and gestured the same for him. His smile fell a bit before following her instruction towards the table. And so, around the table, the others took their seats. To McGonagall's right sat Kingsley, Harry, and Ginny. Ron took his seat on the other side of the headmistress.

The experience of the day in this bright new world came crashing through the door of the small plain room. Lingering in the doorway made it still appear as a window into this strange world. Maybe the answers would be in this room—maybe not—regardless she doubted her world would be same afterward.

Hermione bit her lip before taking a determined step and moved towards the seat at the other head of the table, leaving at least one seat empty on either side of her. She surveyed them all watching her with a variety of emotions. She laid out the items on the table in front of her.

Draco suddenly entered the room, trailed by Blaise. Through gritted teeth, Draco said, "Headmistress, a word." While Draco still stood stiffly by the door awaiting an answer, Blaise took a seat around the table between Hermione and Ron. Blaise threw a wink towards Hermione, who rolled her eyes.

"No, Malfoy. Sit down." The stern headmistress responded.

Draco's jaw clenched a bit more. "I would prefer to discuss this outside."

"No, you have made your concerns quite clear. You may either sit down or continue your tantrum elsewhere." There appeared to be a challenge in Professor McGonagall's tone and an impassive expression. Most of their company looked somewhat uncomfortable with their exchange. Well, except for two. Ron smiled smugly at the blond which earned a glare in return and Blaise took to casually browsing through the leaflets scattered on the table. Draco vaguely reminded Hermione of a petulant child as he turned on his heels and headed back out the door. Blaise let out a disappointed sigh as Draco exited the room.

The headmistress redirected her gaze to Hermione and cleared her throat. "Now, I'm sure you are looking for the facts. I can tell you is that you are in trusted company. You have nothing to fear from those in this room."

Hermione took another turn to look around the room at those who surrounded the table. "Well, I know that I have been lied to, tricked, attacked, and chased down. I know that I don't particularly trust anyone in this room, but I am willing to listen because I need to know the truth." She steeled herself for the answers to—hopefully—come. "So, who exactly are all of you?"

Ginny moved as though to reach out for Hermione's hand on the table before thinking better of it. "We are your family."

"By choice. Not blood." Harry expanded.

Hermione surveyed them again with increased scrutiny. "All of you?"

Harry nodded.

"And by my family…you mean Hermione Granger's family." She assumed.

Ginny confirmed, "You are Hermione Granger. You belong here. With us. " Harry brought his arm around Ginny's shoulders in a silent show of support.

Hermione pursed her lips taking in this information. "If you are all, in fact, my family… why did you try to curse me last night?" Hermione asked pointedly of Harry, who visibly flinched.

Blaise spoke up holding up a finger with his point. "Charm, technically. Not curse." It would appear that the headmistress did not appreciate his contribution though based on the glare she sent his way. Hermione, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes back at Harry waiting for a response.

Harry shifted forward in his seat to lean on his elbows, and his voice similarly shifted to resigned and strict quality. "Because legally… you are a muggle. The procedure for dealing with muggles that come into direct contact with magic is SIMR: Subdue, Investigate, Modify, Release."

"But what does that have to do with my memory?" She asked.

"Modify—it's the modification of your memories," Harry somberly explained. "Memories are magically erased and replaced."

Hermione's brows furrowed. "But that doesn't make any sense. The past two days, the only thing all of you keep telling me is that I am a witch. That I am a witch named Hermione Granger. There was a ball of fire in my hand earlier. And yet now you are trying to tell me that you erased my memory in order fulfill some irrelevant legal obligation meant for sorting out people who aren't magical?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck as his cheeks tinged pink. "Well, …it's a bit more complicated. And it's not just the legal issue…"

Hermione levels him with a glare. "Meaning?"

After a pause, Ron decided to jump in. "Well, you know, it's just that…in the past…. you haven't exactly responded well to… all of this." With a raised eyebrow, Hermione gestured him to continue. "It's usually just a matter of time before you forget everything again. And… it is not… well, you know."

"No, I really don't." She felt equal measures of confusion and frustration boiling.

"Due to your… condition even without the modification, your memory doesn't seem to last long." Harry supplied.

"What condition?" She bit out.

Harry tried to explain. "There was a bit of magic. It was meant to remove magical influences on muggles. But you were exposed to it. You were a witch, so… it took all of your magic and memories about magic. Without magic or a single magical blood relative, it left you a muggle. Legally."

"That's it? But why? What kind of magic was it? How could that happen?" She quickly fired back in response to the unsatisfactory explanation.

"A simple mistake. It was an accident. Nothing could have been done." The headmistress stated rather quickly. Ginny nodded somberly, but Ron shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Kingsley continued to monitor her for a reaction.

Taking in the varied reactions, "If that is true, why does it need to be stated?" Hermione asked pointedly challenging the stern headmistress.

Yet, her response did not seem to catch the headmistress off guard at all. "Simply for the sake of clarity. Given the severity of your situation, I believe it best."

Hermione silently agreed but questioned if perhaps there was another reason. She made a mental note to herself to revisit that later. For now, it was not the most pressing issue. "And it's…incurable? No antidote or alternative? Even with all of your magical options?"

Harry shook his head. Ginny bit her lip and looked off to the side. The others mostly looked at her with varying degrees of pity and concern.

Hermione worried on her lip. Her gaze shifted off to the distant flames. "So, I'm going to forget again? No matter what?"

There was an awkward exchange of looks across the table. In the end, it was the Headmistress that spoke. "Perhaps. There is no way to know. This is the first time you have exhibited magic, perhaps—"

Kingsley blatantly cut off the headmistress. "Yes. You will likely forget all of this." He looked at Hermione, measuring her reaction to his words. Her eyes flickered over him with furrowed brows. She couldn't put her finger on what was different about his expression compared to others, but Hermione felt he was watching her with the same concealed apprehension she had of him.

The headmistress spoke again with stern caution. "No one is able to say at this time."

Hermione bit her lip as she considered her next question. Her need for the answer eventually outweighed her doubt in their truthfulness. "How many times has this happened before? How many times have I forgotten?"

Several different voices spoke at once, each calling out a different number. Harry offered a remorseful expression. "Dunno, ten? Maybe."

Her eyes widened. "Ten?" She felt like the wind was knocked out her with his words. Her eyes watered and lost focus as she imagined what this meant for her life. That was ten times her memories were changed. At least ten pieces of her life were gone. She had woken up ten times not properly recalling her life before. Yet she no recollection, no inkling something was amiss. The memories of childhood and adult life were changed, forgotten, and rewritten. Friends, family, birthdays, hopes, dreams—who knew the full extent of what now escaped her mind. She had been altered. She had forgotten. Ten times. It was all so much more than she anticipated. And she had no idea. She had no recollection of any other memories or experiences that were similar to this. She closed her eyes and leaned forward so that her face rested on her fingertips as she absorbed this information. "Ten," she repeated once again.

Breathe. Just breathe. The words echoed from deep inside her, calming her.

With a deep breath, she sat back in her chair and opened her eyes. Harry, Ginny, and Ron watched her apprehensively. The headmistress observed her. Kingsley watched her with a glint in his eyes. Her mouth twisted as she considered her situation. "Are you going to try to charm me again? Make me forget?" The words twisted with disdain and betrayal as she spoke.

Harry's shoulders sank, then he shook his head. "No. Not for now at least."

"Why?"

For the first time, Blaise was the one to explain with a quirk of his smirk. "Didn't exactly take, did it? And if Boy Wonder can't, it's not bloody likely anyone's will." He leaned back in his seat, almost too casually.

Hermione raised an eyebrow questioning the strange title. Harry's face flushed red, "I'm not the best at memory charms, but for now, no."

She eyed them all carefully from across the table. "How long until I forget again exactly?"

Ginny gave her a forlorn look. "We don't know. It's been different every time. One moment you are fine, having a conversation, walking around, then the next…" She trailed off.

Hermione's brows furrowed together. "What? What happens?"

Ginny looked down with tears gathering in her eyes. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her expression was as angry as it was devastated. Harry pulled his arm tighter around Ginny and watched his wife with concern. Ron looked physically sick with discomfort.

"The next, you are writhing on the floor in pain, screaming bloody murder," Blaise explained in a solemn tone, devoid of his usual teasing lilt. He gave what seemed an attempt at causal with a flick he sent the flier he had been browsing across the table.

Hermione bit on her bottom lip. "But…why are you are erasing my memory? Why do you make me forget?"

"To avoid the whole bloody fiasco. You know, the pain, the chaos, the unpredictability, etc., etc." Blaise then attempted to joke, "You know it's a real time suck for all this. Better to speed along the process." He tossed a hand up in the air generally to reference the situation. There was a thud under the table. "Fuck!" He called out before ducking down to rub at his shin as he threw a glare at Ginny.

Used to his antics, Hermione continued to press on with her questions. "But how do you know when it is time to do that? If you don't know how long I have, how do you know when to obliviate me?"

"Well…because… it happens anytime you are exposed to magic or one of us." Harry tried to explain.

She bit her lip again and pondered this with a conceding nod. "Okay…but how do you know that it will happen? If you keep preventing it, how do you know it's inevitable?"

The color drained from his face. "Well…I mean… I guess…we… don't?"

There was a pause.

"And that is exactly why we should never leave the explanations to Potter." Came the drawl from the doorway. Draco sauntered into the room. Hermione briefly wondered how long he had been there before anyone noticed.

Through the doorway behind him emerged a rather nervous man in his late-forties. This man looked around the room anxiously and adjusted the glasses that rested on his nose. While she could hardly call the attire of her current companions normal, this man was clearly dressed in slippers, pajamas, and dressing gown. His face broke into a comforting smile that faltered for a moment. He glanced towards Draco for some sort of approval before focusing on Hermione again. The man cleared his throat. "Hello, I'm Healer Bernard Tilling." He stepped towards her.

Hermione watched him skeptically, having experienced one too many introductions that day. "Okay…"

From the other end of the table, the headmistress sighed. "Draco, is this man here of his own free will?"

Draco stood with his arms crossed leaning casually against the wall just to the left of the doorway. "Of course," he murmured. When the healer looked back at him hesitantly, Draco motioned with his head towards Hermione. The headmistress templed her fingers in front of her face. Hermione was unsure if she was hiding a grimace or a smile.

"Miss. Wilkinson, I'm sure this is all very confusing—" Healer Tilling began speaking, but the sudden twist in Hermione's gut was distracting.

Up until a few hours ago, she was completely convinced she was and always had been Jean Wilkinson. Now, the name left her…unsettled. She didn't feel strongly enough to correct him on the name, but neither did it feel it was appropriate anymore, which left her a woman without a name.

Ten times. Had she had ten different names? Had she been ten different people?

"—just a quick and painless diagnostic spell—"

His words suddenly registered with her again. "No!" She quickly shouted at him.

The man looked back towards Draco nervously. "I promise it won't hurt. I just need to check your vitals."

"No, no one will be performing magic on me." She said with narrowed eyes. She could feel a slight change in energy around her as several of the candles, and the fireplace that lit the room blossomed with new flames.

Healer Tilling motioned with his hands in surrender, "I understand your apprehension, but we need to reassess your current state as soon as possible."

"No." She repeated with a fierceness she wasn't even aware she had.

In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Ginny tried to intervene. "I'm sure this can wait a bit longer, but it isn't a bad idea—"

"No. There is not a chance that anyone is going to be using any kind of magic on me any time soon." Hermione stated.

Ginny reached towards Hermione on the table, but it did nothing to soften Hermione's glare. "Okay, but please, just hear him out—"

"I promise I mean no harm, Miss." The healer interjected.

Draco rolled his eyes and stalked towards Hermione. He placed one hand on the table and leaned over her. "Stop being a bitch. Let him run the damn test."

She stood up from her seat to challenge him but still stood nearly a foot shorter than his tall frame. "No. Not a single one of you is going to come anywhere near me with your wands drawn until I say so. Now if you are done being a condescending arse, I still have a few questions." She was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off him as his chest rose and fell with each breath. The storm behind his eyes continued to rage in fury as he looked down at her. They remained locked that way. The moment dragged on until the curl that must have shaken loose with all of her fluster settled across her gaze. It floated there briefly before being blown out of her vision as she let out a huff of frustration.

For the briefest moment, the corner of his mouth twitched. Suddenly, Draco spun on his heel and walked away. He sat on the edge of one the tables near the wall. "Fine," he crossed his arms as he leaned back. "Ask your bloody questions, so we can all get on with our lives." He bit out.

Hermione took a deep breath and before sitting back down in the chair with the pride of having somehow won the argument. She looked around the room and noticed a mixture of emotions. Most notably, the fright of the healer, who was now the only person left standing. Perhaps feeling the awkwardness of the situation, he hesitantly moved towards the seat next to Blaise.

"Yes, Bernie. By all means settle yourself right down here next to me." Blaise purred as he bounced his eyebrows suggestively, which made both Hermione and Draco roll their eyes, but drew a nervous laugh from the healer as he took the seat. Ginny snorted with amusement and smirked from across the table. Harry and Ron looked on rather confused by the interaction. The headmistress and Kingsley paid them no mind.

Hermione took a deep breath before reflecting on the questions still left unanswered. "So, who exactly was Hermione Granger?"

AN: The next few chapters will be a bit more eventful as news filters out that Hermione has returned to the Wizarding World. I know this chapter is still a bit vague on the details, but I wrote it several different ways, and this seemed to be the most natural.