Recall

Blaise unclasped the bracelet and studied the tiny bottles. He took his wand out.

"Engorgio," he whispered and one of the bottles grew in size.

Draco took the bottle and broke it on the stone floor. He reached for the paper and avoided the broken shards. Blaise watched him read the paper.

(o_o)…(o_o)…(o_o)

Chapter 35

Amona Dimenti

(o_o)…(o_o)…(o_o)

Blaise took it from him when Draco furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Acua," Blaise said and Draco just stared at him. "It's a neutralizer for…"

Blaise' voice trailed off and he studied the paper. He took the other tiny bottle.

"Engorgio."

Blaise broke it and read it. "Amona Dimenti."

"What's that?" Draco asked taking the other piece of paper from him.

"It's what's poisoning her," Blaise waved a hand towards Hermione.

"Who's poisoning her?"

"Her parents?" Blaise said, not entirely sure of it.

"Why?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Blaise asked. "Didn't you ever think why she just gave in to all arrangements?"

"But… it's because she can't leave her parents."

"Small doses of Amona Dimenti make you very amenable," Blaise explained and Draco thought back to the past months.

"So you just give in?" Draco asked and Blaise nodded.

"That doesn't make sense. She cried, she threw a fit –"

"How many times?" Blaise asked. "I bet every after a violent reaction, they dose her."

"This has been going on since the beginning?"

"By beginning, you mean since she found out she was a Casso Vinci? Yes," Blaise said and huffed as he looked down at Hermione.

"Does the potion make you lose consciousness?" Draco asked.

"In large amounts," Blaise whispered. "I'm guessing they gave her the largest dose a while ago."

Draco was silent. The disturbing question remained unsaid.

Blaise sensed his unwillingness to be curious but he still continued with an explanation: "Large amounts taken at one time and adding all the small doses slipped to her for the past months… can cause headaches, fainting, and memory lapses."

"Lapses," Draco repeated the word to see how dreadful it felt.

"They're trying to make her forget her seventeen years."

"Including the past months? Seventh year?" Draco asked though he dreaded the answer.

"That'd be easier for them. They can make her believe a whole new story."

"How have they been slipping the potions to her?"

"I don't know" was Blaise's answer and Draco somehow sensed he had an idea.

"You know something," Draco said.

"At the holiday party," Blaise began. "I saw her mum talking to the servant."

"She gave the potion to the servant?"

"He offered it to Hermione in a goblet but she refused the first time. I told my brother… somehow, it reached the hostess' ear."

Strings of thought tied themselves in Draco's head and he suddenly remembered Eilynn Roquelle asking him for a favor.

"Did she faint at the party?" Draco asked.

Blaise nodded then looked up at him.

"Her grandmother asked me to bring her centaur's hair."

Draco was reading the paper when Blaise asked: "What for?"

"This," Draco showed Blaise the ingredients of Acua. "I got kicked a few times because of it. There was a centaur walking around her garden."

Blaise laughed.

"What's funny?"

"That's the gardener," Blaise explained and laughed again. "You could have just told him you needed his hair."

"I didn't know he was tame," Draco said, annoyed.

"She asked you to get the centaur's hair," Blaise muttered under his breath and looked down at the paper.

"What do we do now?" Draco asked.

"Neutralize the potion's effect."

"We'll have to collect before we create," Draco said. "It'll take some time."

"She has a few vials of Acua in her room."

"How do you know?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

Grand-mère gave her some. "She mentioned it before."

Draco eyed him with suspicion and Blaise smirked at him, trying to imply that he knew more than he did.

"We don't know if her memory is left untouched," Blaise threatened.

"It's dissolving her memories?"

"Yes, from the very begin –"

Draco stood up and rushed out the bathroom and closed the door but not before he heard Blaise yell: "How are you going to break into a Gryffindor's dormitory?"

Draco came up with the idea as he was running up the stairs. He pointed it towards the point where he estimated the Slytherin common room to be and summoned his broom as the stairs moved to change its orientation. He waited for a while and his broom flew towards him. He caught it and ran to the nearest window. He mounted the broom and took off to where the Gryffindor tower was.

The party was soon going to end and he needed to hurry before the Gryffindors go back to their tower. He floated beside the windows and peeked through it until he saw indications that it was a female's room. He unlocked one of the windows and climbed in.

A bed scattered with a few dresses and pairs of sandals were his clue that he chose the right window.

Is this her room? He walked around and glanced at the beds and the things cluttered on each bedside table. He walked out of the door and down the hallway lined with doors as he carried his broom.

He picked the next one and still couldn't find a hint of Hermione's things.

He heard the footsteps that were walking towards his direction as soon as he closed the door. He walked further and entered the next door to hide behind it. Leaning against the door, he strained his ear to have an idea where the person was going to but when he heard the steps stop behind the door he was leaning against, he rushed to the nearest bed and hid under it.

This is childish, he thought and watched the shiny silver sandals walk across the room. In a rush, he was lying on top of his broom, face down.

Blaise will find this very amusing, he groaned inwardly; annoyed that he volunteered himself to get the vials.

When the person bent forward to search through a trunk, he saw it was Lavender Brown.

Aren't they roommates? Draco thought, searching for clues to know if she shared the same room with Hermione. Lavender searched through a trunk and brought out a can of soda. She walked away and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Draco rolled from under the bed and inspected the bedside tables. Draco tried to remember a spell on how to identify which was Hermione's bed.

They're waiting, he thought and the picture of Blaise and Hermione in the bathroom flashed in his head.

Draco moved to the door and faced the room.

"Accio," he pointed the wand forward. "Golden quill."

The golden quill flew out of the trunk that Lavender was rummaging moments ago. The quill flew to him and he caught it but he was eyeing the trunk from which it came from. He walked to it and searched for vials of potion. But when he went through the first pile of clothes, he decided to summon it so he wouldn't come across pieces of clothing that he never imagined Hermione owning.

"Accio Acua," Draco whispered, pointing his want to the trunk.

Two small vials of light pink liquid came out of the trunk and landed on his palm. He pocketed it and turned to fly back to the Prefect's bathroom.

Blaise chuckled when Draco entered.

"What's funny?" Draco noticed his misplaced reaction.

Draco took out one vial from his pocket. He cradled Hermione's head on the crook of his arm and flicked the cork off the top of the vial with his other hand as he waited for Blaise to answer.

"I can't imagine you breaking into the ladies' dormitory – and the Gryffindor's!"

"Shut up and help me here," Draco steadied Hermione's head and Blaise took the vial from him. He poured the potion into her mouth and threw the bottle into the tub when it was emptied.

"I wonder how you got in there," Blaise said, continuing the conversation, as he watched Draco walk into the bathroom.

"Same way you'll use if it were you," Draco replied. "Why isn't it working?" Draco checked Hermione's eyes.

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "She didn't swallow it yet."

Draco watched Blaise pinch Hermione's nose and placed a finger on her lips to keep it closed. It took some time but by reflex, she gulped.

Blaise laughed when he saw Draco watching intently. Draco glared at him.

"So you went through the portrait hole?" Blaise asked.

Draco thought for a while before he realized what they were talking about. "That's… suicidal."

"That's how I got in before," Blaise said.

Draco's head shot up and looked at Blaise to see if he was lying. "You went to the Gryffindor tower?"

"Yes," Blaise said curtly then an amused smile passed his face. "Her room actually."

"Then why weren't you the one who went to get these vials?" Draco was annoyed.

"I wanted to stay here with her," Blaise shrugged.

Draco brushed Hermione's hair off her face and sat on the floor, his back against the wall.

"She invited me to her room once," Blaise continued and sat beside him, watching Draco position Hermione's head on his lap.

"That's impossible," Draco said.

"What do you mean?"

"How can you hide from all those Gryffindors?"

"They're not all like her," Blaise pointed his thumb at Hermione. "Some of them are not that smart."

Draco stayed silent, not wanting to feed Blaise's need to continue with his bragging.

"We stayed on her bed with the curtains drawn and she cast some spells."

"I'm not asking," Draco said, annoyed at the effort Blaise was putting into this rather than thinking of what to do next. He held the bracelet that he took from the floor.

"You're jealous," Blaise chuckled.

"I'm not," Draco said through his clenched teeth.

"You wouldn't be clutching her bracelet that tight if you weren't," Blaise looked down at Draco's white knuckles.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Draco asked and loosened his grip on the bracelet.

"Let the potion travel first," Blaise said matter-of-factly.

"What do we do now?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Wait, I guess," Blaise supported his elbow with his knee and leaned his head on it.

"They're probably going to attack tonight," Draco said.

"You only thought of that now?"

Draco didn't reply.

Hermione's head moved on his lap and it alerted him of her waking up. He looked down and saw Hermione looking up at him. Draco didn't say anything. He just stared at her and waited for her to speak.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Blaise's voice came with a worried tone.

Hermione's eyes turned to Blaise with a questioning look. "No."

"Do you remember what event we attended tonight?" Blaise asked again and Draco didn't move.

"Event?" Hermione whispered, his forehead had lines of deep thought.

Draco's hand reached out to grip Blaise's arm and he didn't need to say what he was thinking.

"Ball?" Hermione said, looking down at their attire. "Graduation ball."

"Do you remember who you were with?" Blaise asked.

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Hermione tried to sit down but Draco pushed her back down.

"Oh let me sit," she pushed Draco's hands away when he tried to push her down again. She was patting her gown and the two just watched her as she ran her hands in front of her dress, groping for her wand.

"I lost my wand," Hermione said, turning abruptly to search for it. Draco tried to stop her but she was already a few feet away, searching the floor for her wand.

When she noticed the pool of water, she looked back at them. "Why are we in the bathroom?"

"They're going to attack tonight," Draco said.

The single sentence made every concern bone in her body react.

People's faces passed her eyes and she could feel her heart pounding by the time that the pictures stopped flashing and all she could see was Draco and Blaise, sitting on the floor.

The situation sunk into Hermione's brain as she stared at the stone floor.

Harry… Ron…

Draco watched her as her expressions changed and her eyes showed a deep well of thought. Her mind was not on earth, Draco knew.

Worry surfaced. She was muttering under her breath.

"Mum! Dad!" Her head shot up.

"Where are they?" Hermione moved to them and gripped Draco's shoulders.

Draco's eyebrows met in confusion. Hermione stared at him. He didn't say a word and he didn't have to. As soon as Hermione realized Draco won't say anything, she turned to Blaise with pleading eyes.

"They're here too?" Hermione held Blaise's hand that was on his knee.

Blaise nodded, unable to talk when he sensed the concern in her voice.

"What happened to me? Why am I here?" She asked, suddenly aware that she was still in her dress.

"You…" Blaise licked his lips when he felt how dry it was. "You've been drinking Amona Dimenti."

"What's that?" Hermione asked.

Blaise groped for the paper without breaking their eye contact and slipped it to Hermione's hand. She studied it for a while.

"What does it do?" She asked.

"It… makes you forget."

"Forget what?"

"Everything," Draco muttered.

"But I still remember," Hermione said. "I didn't forget anything."

Silence.

"You're keeping something from me," Hermione looked at them both, glaring in accusation.

"They've been slipping it to you," Blaise said.

"Who?"

"Your parents," Blaise said in an almost whisper.

"What?"

"You've been fainting a lot. You've been forgetting things. You –"

"They must be under the Imperius," Hermione said in defense.

Blaise thought for a while. "Or they could be drinking the same potion."

"What good would that do?" Hermione asked. "You-Know-Who would rather control them than make them forget, right?"

"But the potion makes you very cooperative. You've been drinking it too," Blaise pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Hermione looked back at the paper.

"You've accepted everything so easily. Isn't it unnatural?" Blaise said. "You're not going nuts over the plan to give you the dark mark."

"I…" Hermione remembered trashing her room and Draco bringing her food the next day.

"You!" She turned to Draco. "You placed the potion in my food."

"I didn't," Draco said, shocked by her realization. "I didn't even know what Amona Dimenti was."

"And the pumpkin juice you gave me every afternoon at the manor!" Hermione said.

"He's telling the truth," Blaise said and held her back since it seemed like she'd hit Draco any minute.

"But…" Hermione slumped on the floor in surrender. "Why did they do that to me?"

"They knew you wouldn't accept any of this new life," Blaise said.

Hermione didn't say anything.

"It made your surrender easy," Blaise said. "You haven't caused any trouble. You didn't run to Potter."

"I ran away once," Hermione said.

"Really?" Blaise looked at her.

"She went to Arduro by accident," Draco said, pleased that there were some things that Blaise didn't know.

"And why did you go back?" Blaise asked.

"He found me," she waved a hand towards Draco but she didn't take her eyes away from the stone floor.

"You followed her there?" Blaise asked.

"No, I was there first," Draco said. "She was probably the one who followed me."

"I didn't even know what Arduro was," Hermione turned to Draco, annoyed.

"What were you doing there?" Blaise asked.

"I went to get something from Professor Snape," he answered automatically.

"Snape?" Hermione faced him fully. "That was Snape?"

Draco glanced at Blaise, remembering that Hermione didn't know that Snape was hiding. Blaise shrugged and rescued him from his slip up.

"He served the Dark Lord while staying invisible," Blaise said then he looked like he thought of something.

"What?" Draco asked, noticing the change in his expression.

"That's when they doubled the dose," Blaise said thoughtfully. "Snape gave the potion to your parents and they gave it to you."

"It was my mother who told me to get the package from him," Draco said.

"Is it so hard to hand it to her mother?" Blaise said arrogantly then his tone changed when he asked Hermione: "So you started fainting after the trip to Arduro?"

"No, I started fainting after the Holiday break," Hermione said.

Draco chuckled. "Genius," he whispered to annoy Blaise.

Blaise glared at him.

"Could my parents be under the influence of the potion?" Hermione asked.

"It's possible," Blaise said.

"Wait, am I cured?" Hermione asked. "What's the cure?"

"It's not a sickness," Blaise muttered but showed the other paper to Hermione.

"Acua?" Hermione asked.

"It's a neutralizer for Amona," Blaise said.

"Centaur's hair… dried bark… crushed mandrake root," Hermione looked around and asked. "You made this?"

"No," Draco said and showed the other vial to her.

"This is…" Hermione examined it. "Grandma gave this to me."

"I think she knew," Blaise said.

"This was in my trunk!" Hermione held it up to Draco's face. "How did you get in?"

Blaise laughed and Draco punched his arm.

"That's not important," Draco said and took the potion from her.

"We need to let my parents drink it," Hermione said, her expression soft.

"We don't know where they are," Draco said.

"What if my mother and my brother are under it too?" Blaise interrupted.

"Why should they be?" Draco asked.

"I was told I'd be given the dark mark after graduation," Blaise said. "My brother too. I know my mother doesn't like the idea."

"Dark mark," Hermione whispered. "We were told the same thing."

"But why are they attacking tonight?" Draco asked.

"It's a test," Blaise said after a long moment of silence.

Draco and Hermione stared at him, waiting for him to explain.

"A test of loyalty," Blaise said.

They were silent for a long time, thinking of Blaise's idea of how the Dark Lord was thinking.

A distant bang made the three of them jump.

"Pick a side," Hermione said and straightened her back, waiting for their answer.

"So, it's you versus the Dark Lord… huh?" Blaise said.

Hermione glared at him and he pinched his nose, trying to stop himself from laughing. She turned to Draco who wasn't looking but was thinking of which side to pick.

Unlike the decision he made about running away or coming back, this had equal benefits and probably equal risks.

"Pick a side," Hermione repeated.

"You can't just ask us like that," Blaise threw his hands into the air to emphasize his point. "Why is it important?"

"It's a war. There are always sides."

"Are there only two?" Blaise teased. "Can't I have my own side? A side that doesn't care?"

"I just want to know if you'd help me," Hermione said.

"I will but it doesn't mean I picked a side," Blaise pointed out. "What do you need help with?"

"This?" Hermione held the paper up. It was the paper holding the instructions on how to make Acua.

"What do you need it for?" Blaise's eyebrows met.

"Mum and dad," Hermione said.

"You want us to make a potion in the middle of a war?" Blaise asked.

Hermione nodded, though she knew how stupid the idea was.

Blaise huffed. "It's the worst time to do that but I think I will do it."

Hermione smiled and gave the parchment to him. "Thank you."

"I need his help though," Blaise said and used the rolled parchment in his hand to point at Draco.

Hermione nodded and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked before he could stop himself from doing so.

"I'm going to look for my wand," Hermione shrugged.

They both looked watched her walk out of the bathroom without saying anything else.

(o_o)…(o_o)…(o_o)

"You tell her it's a crazy idea but you agree to do it," Draco broke the silence.

"It's good for her to think that I'm going to do it," Blaise said and pocketed the parchment.

"What are you going to do?" Draco asked.

"What are you going to do?" Blaise returned the question.

"Fight?" Draco said, not sure if it was the answer Blaise was expecting.

Blaise smirked and stood up, offering a hand to Draco to help him stand up.

"Then are you going to fight against her?" Draco asked, indirectly asking what side he was going to support.

"Where do you think she's going?" Blaise asked, ignoring the question.

"Find Potter and Weasley," Draco said with contempt.

"She won't find them here."

Draco heard the tone that Blaise was sure of what he said. "Where are they?"

"They left last night," Blaise said.

It bothered Draco more than his confusion that Blaise knew a lot more than he did. "How do you know?"

"The Dark Lord found out," Blaise continued.

Draco had a lot more questions but what Blaise said made him understand why the attack was tonight.

Harry Potter made his move and it was time for the Dark Lord to make his as well.

(o_o)…(o_o)…(o_o)

Author's Note: What do you think? Let me know... Review!

Thank you for the reviews! :) It pushes me to update ~

I'm going back to school the day after tomorrow so writing is now slowing so bear with me.

Amona Dimenti is based on an Italian word, I think, that means 'forget'. Acua is also based on another word (I'm not sure what language). They both do not exist in J.K. Rowling's magical book, so forgive me if the coining of words is not as amazing as hers.