A/N: Since I was working in one chapter why not work on two and update them together? So, here you go, one more chapter to make up for the time that I didn't update any chapters at all. Enjoy?
Disclaimer: Again, see previous chapters for the disclaimer, I'm too lazy to write it again.
Chapter 11 A Visit to St. Mungo's
Hermione awoke very early the day after the dinner party. The sun was just rising and its light was creeping through the gaps of the curtains on the windows.
She stretched sleepily on the bed before blinking the sleep off her eyes. She could hear her parents talking and moving in a room nearby, and knew that at any moment her mother would walk down the stairs toward the kitchen and start making breakfast.
There was no reason to wait, she thought. In an hour, Ginny would come and accompany her for her appointment. She was really looking forward to this.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Ron had decided to spend the night at the Burrow after accompanying his parents and sister back after the dinner party.
The alarm clock that still remained by his bedside table rang shrilly in his ears.
He groaned and opened his eyes cautiously.
"Ginny, hurry up!" He heard his mother calling. "I want you to have time for a light breakfast before you leave. I know you won't have time after picking Hermione up."
Ron groaned again. Of course, he thought, Hermione's appointment. Maybe he should have left as soon as he got them home and returned to his flat posthaste.
There was nothing for it now, he had to do the best of the situation and get on with his day as if nothing was going on. As if he didn't wish to be at St. Mungo's that morning instead of reporting to work.
He got up. He planned on having a light breakfast and then apparate to his flat for a quick shower and a change of clothes.
He opened the door of his room and could hear his mother talking and moving around down in the kitchen. The bathroom door was closed, which meant that somebody was using it. He guessed it was Ginny who was using it at the moment.
With a quick sweep of his fingers through his hair, he stepped down to meet his parents at the table.
"Oh, good morning, dear." Mrs. Weasley said as she spied him climbing down the stairs.
"Morning, mum." He mumbled.
"Have breakfast before you leave." Mr. Weasley said from the head of the table, where he was reading the Daily Prophet as he waited for breakfast to be ready.
"Yeah. Just a quick one, I have to get to my flat and change before reporting for duty." Ron replied as he eased a chair from the table and sitting on it. "Anything good in there?" He asked his father with a fleeting look at the front page.
"Not really." Said Mr. Weasley glancing at his son over the paper. "Just some mention on Malfoy's case."
Ron snorted derisively. "It's taken months just to get him to cooperate for his trial." He finally said. "If he's sent to Azkaban, it will be a miracle."
"The Malfoys are still very powerful in the wizarding community." Mrs. Weasley warned.
"Only with the socialites." Said Ron. "They are the ones who had been pulling the strings and caused his case to delay. I don't know what they're thinking. The evidence against him might be circumstantial, but it's still very strong. Any other wizard would be in Azkaban by now." The disgust on his voice showed his contempt for Malfoy and those like him.
"Well, money talks." Said Mr. Weasley sounding a little disappointed.
Ron snorted with derision but said no more as his mother placed a plate before him. He turned his attention to his food. He didn't want to think about Malfoy and his upcoming trial. It had taken three months to get a date for his trial and it still seemed that there was some trouble.
Thanks to the investigation that Harry and Ron had done while searching for Hermione, they had uncovered several hidden cells of Death Eaters that had escaped and remained active after the war. Several of those apprehended had been already tried and were now spending the rest of their lives in Azkaban. Only minor members remained to be dealt with, the only leader that remained to be tried was Malfoy. And Ron was not happy to have it so.
"I should've busted his head when I had the chance, Ron thought as he glimpsed Malfoy's face sneering from the picture on the Prophet's page.
Ginny ran down the stairs, pulling Ron from his dark thoughts.
"Just a light meal, mum." Ginny said. "You know I don't eat too much in the mornings."
"I know, Ginny." Said Mrs. Weasley, placing a plate with toast and butter in front of one of the empty chairs. "Just take a seat."
Ginny sat on her customary chair and reached for the toast her mother had placed before it. She looked at her brother carefully. "You can use the bathroom now."
Ron glared at her. "I'm going home in a minute." He said.
Ginny shrugged and turned her attention back to her toast as Mrs. Weasley placed a warm cup of coffee before her.
Ron pushed his plate away and drained his coffee. "I'm going." He said pushing his chair from the table. "I'll see you later." He said to his family.
"Be careful." Mrs. Weasley called as Ron walked out of the kitchen to apparate home.
"Don't worry." He called before a sharp pop was heard by the others as he apparated home.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Hermione dressed carefully that morning. She was eager to begin her day and arrive at this hospital her parents had told her about. She had great hopes that the doctors would find a treatment that would help her. But a voice of doubt was always whispering in her ear. The experts at Doctor Milbourne's hospital hadn't been able to help, it said, what if these doctors couldn't help either. She shook her head and put the thought aside.
"I will not be a pessimist." She said to herself. "They will find a treatment we can follow."
"Hermione?" Her mother's voice was heard from the hall. "Are you up?"
"I'll be down in a minute." Hermione called.
"Alright, but hurry up. You should eat something before Ginny comes for you." Mrs. Granger said.
Hermione finished brushing her hair and hurried out the door.
She found her father and mother seating in the kitchen table discussing an article from the newspaper.
"It's already high as it is, a raise is not needed." Mr. Granger was saying.
"Good morning." Said Hermione as she walked in.
"Good morning, princess. Did you sleep well?" Mr. Granger asked as Hermione took the remaining seat.
"Yes." Hermione said, pouring some tea into her cup. "I'm just a little nervous."
"Don't be. I'm sure that you'll be fine." Mrs. Granger said. "And Ginny will be there with you."
"Are you sure you can't come with me?" Asked Hermione looking at her parents with some apprehension.
"I'm sorry, dear." Her mother said with a sigh. "I wish we could."
"We have some patients to see that we can't cancel on." Mr. Granger said regretfully. "But we'll meet you in town after the appointment."
"Yes, there's a bistro near the hospital. We'll wait for you there." Mrs. Granger said.
Hermione nodded and turned her attention to the toasts, eggs, and ham that Mrs. Granger had placed before her.
The family had just finished their meal when the doorbell rang.
"Oh, that must be Ginny." Mrs. Granger exclaimed as she hurried out the kitchen.
"Are you ready?" Mr. Granger said looking at his daughter with some trepidation.
"Yes." Said Hermione.
She stood up from her chair and took her plate and cup over to the sink.
"Hermione, dear, get your coat and scarf. It's a little chilly this morning. I think it might start snowing soon." Mrs. Granger said as she entered the kitchen trailed by Ginny.
"Are you ready?" Ginny asked Hermione, who stood nervously by the sink.
"Oh, yes." Hermione sad quickly. "I'm just going to get my coat." She added and hurried out to her room.
"How will you take her into the hospital?" Mr. Granger asked Ginny as soon as Hermione was out of hearing.
"We'll take the Underground to town. There's a special entrance that is used when Muggles are needed to be brought in because of accidental magic." Ginny said. "We'll use it today. She'll think it is a Muggle hospital."
"We'll wait at the dinner across the street." Mrs. Granger said. "Molly said that most Muggle relatives of Muggle-born wizards treated at St. Mungo's wait there."
Ginny nodded. "I know it. I'll bring her round as soon as we're done."
"I'm ready." Said Hermione from the doorway. "Are we leaving now?"
"There is no reason to wait." Smiled Ginny. "I'll see you later, then." She added to the Grangers.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger nodded as Hermione quickly kissed them goodbye. "I'll see you later." She said.
"Good luck." Called Mr. Granger as Hermione and Ginny made their way to the front door.
"I hope they can help her." Said Mrs. Granger as they heard the front door close.
"I think they will. If they can't, I don't know who else will." Mr. Granger said.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Ron apparated to his flat soon after dissapparating from the Burrow. He hurried into the bathroom for a quick shower and quickly changed his clothes.
After doing a quick security check, something he usually did before he left home every morning, he disapparated once more toward the Ministry.
He apparated in the designated apparating area of the Ministry. After passing through the checkpoint without incident, he hurried through the Atrium and stepped into one of the lifts.
He watched as other Ministry workers and visitors got on and off at the different floors, while memos flew in and out each time the doors opened.
Finally, he arrived at Auror Headquarters. Harry was already sitting on his desk.
"I thought you were going to be late." Harry said as Ron flopped heavily on his own chair.
"I almost was." Ron sighed as the nearest clock struck the hour. "I spent the night at the Burrow. But I forgot the fact that I don't keep any of my working robes there."
"You should. Just in case." Said Harry as he ruffled through his parchments looking for something. "I got an owl this morning from the Minister." He added after a moment.
Ron looked at his friend with a lift of his eyebrow. "What did she want?"
"They want me to appear for Malfoy's trial." Harry said with a sigh as he leaned back on his chair.
"Are you going?" Ron asked curiously.
"Of course. I'd love to see Malfoy get what he deserves." Harry said with a twist of his lips. He and Malfoy had always had a rivalry that had survived the years after finishing Hogwarts. No rivalry could equal it, unless it was that of his father and his friends against Snape.
"So they finally got a trial date?" Asked Ron reaching for his messages piled in his inbox tray.
"Yeah. Two weeks from now." Harry said reaching for the folders he had been riffling through. "The last appeal from his team has just been dismissed."
Ron grunted. "Took them long enough."
Harry shrugged. "We knew it wouldn't be too easy." He said carefully. "The Malfoy family has been able to escape censure from the Ministry despite the proofs of their ties to Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy escaped being imprisoned many times, until he was caught as a Death Eater back in our fifth year."
Ron looked at his friend sharply. Harry didn't speak often of the events at the end of their fifth year. More than six years had passed after Sirius' death and Ron knew that it still give his friend nightmares; even though they were not as regular as they had once been.
"He almost escaped that one because Fudge wasn't too eager to see him in Azkaban. He had been seen many times in his company, it was known that Malfoy had advised him in many occasions. He barely survived when the public thought that he had been bamboozled by a Death Eater, thank Merlin he was kicked out of office." Ron said.
"True. But he escaped major punishment then. The Dementors had left Azkaban by then." Harry said thinking about those past days. "But he lost status in the community."
"Not enough." Ron said. "He may have lost half his money and his social status. But there are many who are still willing to back his family up, even though he was killed during the war at Voldemort's side."
"Well, there's nothing we can do about him. But we can still put Draco behind bars." Harry said.
"Let's just hope he doesn't slips through as his father did." Ron said.
"Fat chance." Harry said with a smile.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Hermione and Ginny took the underground to get into town. Hermione looked out the window in wonder as he saw the train hurry through the cavernous stations. But the trip didn't last long as Ginny pulled her through the door and through the crowd and into the city streets.
People hurried through the sidewalks as they walked toward their offices. Hermione saw men and women in suits carrying suitcases and talking on cell phones as they made their way through the crowd.
Finally, Ginny pulled her to stop in front of a large building. A visitor's entrance was right in front of them, a sign showing the way toward the emergency entrance at one side. Large windows shined on its surface and some ambulances were parked nearby.
"Here we are." Ginny said with a smile. "St. Mungo's. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'm ever going to be." Said Hermione taking a deep sigh.
"Let's go in, shall we?" Said Ginny and led her through the large glass doors and into the hospital lobby.
"Hello, Dianne." Ginny greeted the young woman at the reception desk.
"Hey, Ginny. Why did you come through here?" The woman asked curiously.
"I'm bringing someone in." Ginny said nodding toward Hermione. "Hermione here has an appointment this morning." She said looking at the woman she had called Dianne meaningfully.
With a lift of her brow, Dianne looked down at the appointment book on the counter.
"Hermione. What's the last name?" She asked.
"Granger." Hermione answered tremulously.
"Granger, Granger." Dianne looked through the book. "Ah, here we are. Granger to meet with Dr. Willinghbye. I'll page him." She said and took a headpiece from a phone and spoke into it.
Instantly, her voice was amplified through the halls. "Dr. Willinghbye, please report to the Visitor's entrance. Dr. Willinghby to the Visitor's entrance."
"He should be here soon." Dianne said as she put the headpiece back down.
"Thanks. We'll wait in the sitting area." Said Ginny and with a quick nod led Hermione toward one of the chairs nearby.
There weren't a lot of people waiting in the lobby as Hermione looked around. A young woman with two small children was reading a magazine nearby as the two toddlers sat quietly in their carriage. A gift shop nearby was open and she could glimpse flowers, magazines, candy and other gift items displayed as an older woman sat flipping through a magazine behind the counter.
"Ms. Granger?" A voice called nearby.
Hermione looked around.
"Dr. Willinghbye." Said Ginny as she stood by Hermione's side.
"Oh, hello Ginny." The young doctor smiled as he walked toward them. "And Ms. Granger, I presume."
"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Hermione Granger, doctor." Ginny blushed with embarrassment. She knew her mother would chide her for forgetting her manners if she had been present. "Hermione, this is Doctor Willinghbye." She quickly added.
"Doctor." Hermione smiled nervously. He seems too young, she thought.
"Ms. Granger, I've been told about your case, although I will not be in charge of your treatment, I will be in charge of doing your preliminary examination today." Dr. Willinghbye explained.
Hermione nodded with relief.
"If you follow me, we'll retire to an examination room." Dr. Willinghbye said.
He led the two young women through a set of doors and through the maze of corridors until they reached an empty room.
It was very similar to the examination room in Doctor Milbourne's hospital, Hermione thought as she looked around the Spartan room with its whitewashed walls and the long examination table in the middle and the counter against one wall with its many instruments gleaming in the light.
"If you could step through that door." The doctor said pointing to a door at the opposite side of the one they had entered through. "You'll find a gown there. Change into it. I'll return soon." He said before leaving them in the small room.
Hermione took a deep sigh and walked into the dressing room.
Ginny waited for her in the room.
It didn't take long for Hermione to change. She quickly returned to the examination room and found Ginny sitting in one chair leaning against the wall.
Dr. Willinghbye returned with a nurse.
"I'm going to have to ask you to lie on the table." He said to Hermione.
Hermione climbed onto the table and lay back.
"Just close your eyes and relax." The doctor ordered.
Hermione closed her eyes and sighed deeply. A strange sensation flooded her body, and a bright light glowed behind her closed eyelids.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Ginny watched as the doctor flicked his wand over Hermione and cast a sleeping charm. She turned to look at the young healer questioningly.
"We thought it would be best if we did this while she slept." The healer said understanding the question in Ginny's eyes. "I have to cast a few charms to find the amount of damage done and we didn't think she would allow us to do them if she was aware." He added with a smile.
Ginny nodded. "You're right, she wouldn't have understood."
"Exactly. So let's see what we can find." The healer said and flicked his wand over Hermione.
The examination didn't last long. As the doctor cast each spell, he called out his findings to the nurse, who made quick notes into a chart she held in her arms.
"That's all for now." He finally said. "Well, as we suspected, this is not going to be easy."
"But there is a treatment we could follow, isn't there?" Ginny asked sharply.
"Yes. But it will take time for it to take effect." The healer said. "If she would have been brought in as soon as the attack happened, we could've helped her regain her memory with relative ease." The healer explained. "But too much time has passed since the damage was done, that has caused the charms used to affect her deeply. We'll have to rid her body off any traces of the jinxes first. Once those have been cleared, her memory will return. But it will be a slow process. We cannot rid her of the effects all at once, it will be a shock to her body and it will only make things worse. We'll have to do it slowly. A potion will be enough to do so. We also thought that a visit to one of our Muggle-trained counselors would be helpful too. Her family should attend those as well, to help her through."
"I'm sure her parents will be eager to help." Said Ginny, looking at her sleeping friend thoughtfully.
"Nancy, bring me the set of potions needed." The healer ordered the nurse. As soon as the nurse had left, the healer turned back to Ginny. "I'm going to wake her and we'll do a simple Muggle examination." He explained. "So not to confuse her."
Ginny nodded and stepped back as the healer raised his wand over Hermione. "Enervate."
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
The glowing ceased and Hermione heard the door open.
"Now Hermione I'm going to test your reflexes." Doctor Willinghbye said. Just lie still."
Hermione nodded and felt as the doctor tapped her knees sharply. He also checked the reflexes in her feet and after asking her to sit up he checked her arms and hands as well.
"I'm going to ask you to breathe deeply for me." He said as he placed is stethoscope over her chest. She inhaled and exhaled. "Again." She repeated her breathing a couple of times more.
"Okay." The doctor performed a couple of more exercises before he seemed satisfied.
"Nancy here will draw some blood from you." He said as he nodded to the nurse (who had returned as the doctor removed the sleeping charm) who was carrying a tray on her hands.
The nurse took her pressure and drew a bit of blood. Hermione watched everything in silence.
"I have here a couple of potions I want you to take." Said the doctor as soon as the nurse was done. "They'll help you to relax. We find that sometimes the stress of the situation keeps patients with amnesia from remembering. We hope that these relaxants will relieve the stress and allow your mind to heal faster." The doctor explained as he presented a couple of bottles to Hermione. "The directions are on the label, make sure that you follow them exactly."
Hermione nodded as she took them from him.
"We also think that scheduled meetings with one of our therapists will help you. Your family should attend these with you. I'll bring you the number to call to make an appointment." The doctor said.
"Alright." Hermione replied.
"If you take those potions as directed and follow the instructions of the therapist, you'll find that your memories will return soon enough." The doctor said. "It won't be easy. Your condition has lasted far longer than it could be hoped, but we'll help you to recuperate as soon as it can be done."
"Thank you, doctor." Hermione said.
"Thanks, doctor." Ginny added.
Doctor Willinghbye nodded. "I'll send Nancy with that number. See you soon. Later, Ginny."
"Later." Ginny said as the doctor and the nurse stepped out from the room.
"It was much easier than I expected." Hermione said with a slight frown as she slipped into the dressing room to change.
"I expect there wasn't much more to do after all the tests that were done by Doctor Milbourne. She sent your complete file just before we went to get you." Ginny said as she read the label instructions on the potion bottles the doctor had directed Hermione to take.
"I suppose." Hermione said as she stepped out of the dressing room. "They did a lot of tests from the beginning."
Ginny shrugged. "The doctors must have thought it wouldn't do any good in repeating them all, what could have changed from the last set of tests after all."
Hermione nodded. She looked at the bottles in Ginny's hands. "Do you think they will help?" She asked nodding toward the bottles.
"Yes." Ginny said without any hesitation. "Relaxants are known to relieve stress of any kind, and some types of amnesia can be cause by stress."
Hermione nodded. She supposed Ginny must know what she was talking about, she was training to be a doctor after all. And she must confess that she felt good to be doing something about her situation at last, even if it is taking a couple of teaspoons of medicine a few times during the day and attending therapy sessions with her family.
"Let's go. Your parents are waiting for you." Said Ginny as she opened the door open.
The nurse Nancy was coming toward them as they stepped out of the room. "I have the number of the therapist." She said as she handed a piece of paper to Hermione.
"Thank you." Hermione said.
With a quick nod to both women, the nurse spun on her feet and walked away.
"That woman needs some those relaxants as well." Ginny said. "Always so quiet and rigid. Never says a thing unless she has to."
Ginny led Hermione through the maze of corridors until they stepped through the door leading to the lobby.
"See you later Gin." Dianne called from the reception counter.
"Later." Ginny called with a wave.
Hermione could've sworn that the examination hadn't lasted for more than an hour and a half; but by the looks of the clock in the lobby, they had been in the hospital for almost three hours. Hermione frowned but with a shrug she put it aside as they stepped out through the glass doors and walked into the busy street.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Mr. and Mrs. Granger were eagerly waiting for their daughter and her friend's return in a small diner across the hospital. They had ordered a tray of finger sandwiches and a pot of tea while they waited.
Mrs. Granger was the first to see the two young women walk into the diner.
"Hermione, Ginny." She called as she waived over her head to attract their attention.
Ginny pulled Hermione toward the small table.
"How did it go?" Asked Mrs. Granger as soon as Hermione and Ginny joined them.
"It went well." Said Hermione. "He gave me a couple of medicine bottles to take and said that we should think about meeting with one of their therapists to help."
"That's good." Said Mr. Granger as he watched his daughter pour a cup of tea for herself and one for her friend. "Did you get the number to call?"
"Yes. He said to call and make an appointment." Hermione said, extracting a piece of paper from her pocket and passing it to her mother.
"I'll look at our schedule and set up an appointment." Said Mrs. Granger as she looked at the number and name on the piece of paper. "I've heard of her." She said with surprise. "She's considered to be one of the best in the field."
"Is she?" The others asked, Ginny and Mr. Granger with surprise while Hermione was simply curious and glad.
"Oh, yes. I read an article about her in one of our magazines a few months ago. I'll set up the appointment as soon as we get home." Mrs. Granger sounded more than pleased about the situation.
"I'm going to the powder room for a minute." Said Hermione after a moment.
"Well? What did he say?" Asked Mr. Granger to Ginny as soon as Hermione was out of hearing.
"He thinks it will take some time for her to recuperate completely." Ginny replied, cradling the warm cup in her hands. "The passing of time without proper diagnosis and treatment has made the spells used in the attack to cause more damage than if she had been treated immediately after the incident."
Mr. Granger swore under his breath while Mrs. Granger looked worried.
"But they will be able to do something, won't they?" Asked Mrs. Granger with worry.
"Oh yes. But first they have to deal with the damage the spells have caused. He gave her two potions that will help to release the damage on her body. The therapist will be the one to help with the memory retrieval. As soon as the effects of the attack are out of her body, the memories will come more easily." Ginny explained.
"How will this therapist work?" Asked Mr. Granger. "I didn't know that witches worked among the Muggle community.
"There are many witches who were born within the Muggle community, it's very common to have Muggle-borns working in a field that allows them to work for both the Muggle and Wizard community. It makes things easier when the Ministry needs help to cover an attack or accidental spell work on Muggles." Ginny said, sipping from her cup.
"I see, that makes sense, I suppose." Replied Mr. Granger.
"What makes sense?" Asked Hermione as she walked up to the table.
"The need to use a therapist." Said Mrs. Granger. "We were just wondering why a therapist was needed in this case, but Ginny says that the therapist can help with recalling lost memories."
"There are several methods she might use." Ginny said thinking about the practices that could be used in such a case. "I guess she might try some hypnosis, I've heard it helps when trying to recall a lost memory. Meditation can be of use too." Ginny didn't mention that most therapist were also trained Leglimens, which helped them to see into their patients' minds in order to find the cause of conflict or to help patients who had been hit with a strong memory charm. Ginny thought that it was most likely for this therapist to try a little Leglimency in order to help Hermione.
"I've heard of such practices." Said Mr. Granger thoughtfully. "I don't know if they work but we must certainly give them a try."
"Oh, I think they can help." Said Mrs. Granger. "Meditation is becoming very popular in therapy. No matter what the case."
Hermione listened to the conversation in silence. It seemed that her parents were eager to commence the treatment and help her in the process, but Hermione couldn't help feeling apprehensive about the upcoming sessions. She could only hope that the outcome was such as they expected.
A/N: Another chapter done, and Hermione is getting closer to regaining her memory, at least she hopes so. Thank you again for being so patient with me, many of you have been waiting for a new chapter for quite a while. I hope that you don't have to wait for so long again, but I cannot make any guarantees, my schedule has been extremely crazy in the last couple of weeks and there are times that I'm so tired, I don't feel like connecting to the internet, or, as in most cases, turn on the computer at all. Thank you again for the replies and please don't forget to do so once more.
Happy Reading!