He needed to hit something. Or throw something. Or scream.

But storming out of Erin's hospital room wouldn't be fair to her. Especially when she looked even more devastated than he was.

"Why?" she asked, tears in her eyes and her arms crossed as she glared at Healer Thomas. "Why can't I remember?"

Dean looked at her with the patient understanding that could only come with years of experience. "Things like this aren't an exact science, and there is a chance you still will," he assured her. "It's possible your mind was affected by the combined spells more than we thought, or the trauma of what happened is just blocking things. It might just take some time."

Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hand reaching out to grip her mother's.

"Just take a minute to think," Violet said soothingly. "Is there anything that seems fuzzy or confusing? Like flashes of things or feelings or-"

"Yes," she said, her eyes snapping open. They searched through the crowd of people around her bed until they landed on Al. "But I was having that before the treatment."

Healer Thomas nodded, glancing at Al as well. He'd acted like he wasn't listening, but he was probably remembering the conversation Al had with Erin just before her procedure as well. "Then I'd recommend digging into those as best you can. Do things that will help you explore those areas a bit more. It might help jog your memories. We've seen these things take time before. There's no reason to give up hope."

Erin let out a shaky sigh and nodded at the Healer. Al had been there most of the day, waiting by her bedside with her parents and siblings and focusing solely on Erin, everything happening at the Ministry forgotten. But he'd hung back since she'd woken up, not wanting to overwhelm her and also fearful that she wouldn't be okay. After hearing Dean's advice, however, he was done keeping up any type of pretense.

He'd said he'd love her no matter what, and he'd meant that. There was no way he was going to let her do any of this alone.

She watched Al as he made his way towards her bed, sitting on the edge of it and effortlessly taking her free hand in his.

"Should she go home, then?" he asked the Healers. "She hasn't lived there very long. It could help, right?"

Violet nodded and smiled. "It definitely couldn't hurt."

"All your vitals look good, but we'll send some pain potions with you in case you have problems with your head again, and you'll have weekly checkups until we're sure you're in the clear," said Dean. "If you'd like to go home, we can get you discharged tonight."

Erin looked uncertainly at her parents, and her mother nodded encouragingly.

"Okay," she said. "Home sounds nice."

Dean left to get started on discharging her and Violet went to get her potions, leaving Erin with Al and her family.

"Rose should be here soon," said Alice as she came back into the room. "I explained the situation and she insisted on coming."

Erin smiled. "Sounds like Rose. Always wanting to be useful and fix things."

Her family smiled at her. "Will you be okay tonight?" asked her mother. "Do you want me to come with you?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "No, you heard them. Back to as normal as possible is probably a good thing. And I'll have Rose. She'll bend over backward for me even if I don't need her to."

This seemed to reassure Hannah, who gave her daughter a tender smile and stood before kissing her on the cheek. "I'll come by tomorrow to check on you, okay?"

Erin nodded. "Thank you. You all should get home. Rose will be here soon and she can get me where I need to go."

They seemed reluctant, but listened to her suggestion. Throughout all their goodbyes, however, her grip on Al's hand stayed firm. Not that he needed the encouragement to stick around. He wasn't going anywhere.

Ethan was the last to leave the room, pausing to tell Al he'd let him know the minute the Ministry had any news of Scorpius.

"Thanks, mate," said Al. "Just Floo Erin and Rose's place. I'll probably be there for a while."

Ethan nodded and was about to leave when Erin called out in a mockingly cheerful voice, "Goodnight, Ethel!"

The scowl Ethan sent his sister was too affectionate to be believable.

"That's what he gets for calling me Ernie," she said smugly as her brother left the room. Al shook his head in amusement, grateful for any moment he got a glimpse of the Erin he was used to, rather than the terrified one that had been in the hospital for three days.

The silence that followed the departure of her family was calming. He'd expected it to be a bit tense with so many questions and uncertainties hovering around them, but there was also something freeing about the fact that they could just move forward, even if it wasn't down a path either would have chosen.

"You sure you're up for leaving?" he asked. Erin looked at him with weary eyes and nodded. She grew nervous a moment later and seemed to be struggling internally. Before she could manage to get out whatever it was, there was a soft knock on the door and it opened a minute later to reveal a red eyed Rose and-

"Scorp!" Al nearly shouted, standing from the bed and hurrying across the room. Rose stepped aside just in time, leaving room for Al to pull his best friend into a rare hug. "I'm so sorry," he said as Scorpius hesitated only a moment before hugging him back. Al pulled away and braced his hands on his best friend's shoulders. "I shouldn't have sprung that on you like that and I probably shouldn't have kept it from you in the first place."

"Al, it's okay," Scorpius said sincerely. "You told me when it mattered."

Al had a hard time agreeing with that, his father's words ringing in his ears as he released his hold on his friend and looked at him questioningly.

"I wouldn't have gone to see Pansy and she wouldn't have led me to Blaise and Vaisey if you hadn't said anything," said Scorpius. Al nodded, remembering how his friend's uncle had shown up at the Ministry the night before.

"Turns out everyone was right to be suspicious," said Scorpius. "Theo's been carrying on the work his father did before him, and Uncle Blaise helped him get through some legal barriers. He went to the Ministry with everything he has on Theo last night after I asked him to."

Al grimaced but Scorpius merely shrugged. "It's no one's fault but his own. And I'm not going to waste time being miserable over it."

His eyes went to Rose, who was now sitting next to Erin on her bed, both of them with tears in their eyes and talking quietly with each other.

"You two make up?" Al asked, not really needing to ask the question but not sure what else to say.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, a smile flickering across his face as he continued to watch Rose. "I was an arse and she was just trying to have my back. She's incredible, yeah?"

Al looked at his obviously love-struck best friend uncertainly. "Er...yeah, I suppose so."

"Scor?"

It was almost comical how quickly he made his way to Rose's side. Al followed in bewilderment. He'd been sure that things would be a bit tense between Rose and Scorpius for at least a little while, but that seemed to be the last thing they were. The smile Rose gave her boyfriend through her tears didn't hold any unease, and there was a new confidence in the way Scorpius immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders when he reached her.

Something was different.

"They said she can go home," Rose explained. "And that she might still remember things but it could just take time. There's already a few small things she can remember."

"Really?" asked Scorpius as Al reached Erin's side once again. She nodded.

"It's not so much moments as feelings," she explained. "Like with Gran. In my memory, I only lost her a month ago, but emotionally, it doesn't feel so fresh. And there are other things too."

Her cheeks were a bit pink as she refrained from explaining what else she remembered, but Al didn't even have to guess what it was. She might know how she felt about him, but she still wasn't used to talking about it.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Scorpius.

"Well, the Healers said that I should hone in on those things and try to be around places and people that could help me remember more."

Rose nodded before looking at her cousin. "Al, you should stay."

He looked at Rose in confusion. "Umm...I am staying?" he said uncertainly.

"No," said Rose with a roll of her eyes. "You should come stay at the flat."

Al looked at Erin to gauge her reaction. There was some hesitancy in her expression, but she was reaching out to hold his hand a moment later.

"I'll have to clear it with the trainers, but it shouldn't be a problem," he said in relief. "They might even want me to take a little time away since I'm so close to the case and everyone else is working on that anyway. Might still have to do some studying, though."

Erin and Rose both looked relieved at this news, and all four of them were heading back to the girls' flat as soon as Violet returned with Erin's potions and discharge papers.

"It smells familiar. Is that weird?" Erin asked as she took in the flat she shared with Rose.

"No, it's a pretty constant thing so I'm not surprised," said Rose with a smile. "We think our upstairs neighbor grows some sort of plant on his balcony that makes it smell like that."

Al had never really noticed before, but now that they'd mentioned it, there was a sweet smell to the air that he'd never registered.

"Anyone else hungry?" asked Scorpius as he made his way into the kitchen. Rose followed as Erin continued to take in her surroundings. Al stuck close to her side.

"I'd actually kill for some of Mum's shepards pie," said Erin.

"We can go pick some up," Scorpius hollered from the kitchen, and he and Rose came back out and began putting their shoes back on. "The kitchen at the Leaky Cauldron should still be open. Want anything, Al?"

He nodded. "I'll have the same."

"You okay if I…?" Rose asked Erin hesitantly, jerking her head towards Scorpius.

"Sure," said Erin, though her smile was a bit nervous. Rose either didn't notice or wasn't bothered by it, because she was taking Scorpius' hand a moment later and they were heading out the door. But not before she could shoot a meaningful look at Al. Which meant she was leaving them alone together on purpose.

This time, the silence was awkward.

"I kind of want to shower," said Erin, her voice a bit stilted as she inspected the ends of her admittedly greasy blonde hair.

"Sure, yeah," said Al, determined to be nothing but helpful. "I'll just show you-"

"I'd like to see if I remember, actually," said Erin. "Plus, how hard can it be to figure out?"

She gave him a hesitant smile, which Al returned. He was slightly surprised that she took his hand and began leading him down the hall. She froze for a moment before picking the correct door, leading them into her bedroom.

"Oh, sorry," she said, turning to Al with wide eyes as if just realizing what she was doing. "You can go wait on the sofa, if you'd like."

"It's fine," said Al. "I've been in your room before."

He barely had time to see Erin's cheeks turn bright pink before she turned and headed further into the room. "Right. Of course," she said, beginning to search through her dresser. Al sat on the bed and watched her, unsure what he needed to say or do to ease whatever was making her so nervous.

"Do you want this back?" she asked, plucking at the neck of the jumper she was wearing, her arms full of clothes.

"Oh," said Al, registering for the first time that the one she was wearing had been his. "No, you...you really like that one, so I let you keep it."

Her eyes searched his for a moment before she nodded, hesitated in the doorway, and quickly left the room. Al covered his face with his hands and groaned as he fell back on the bed.

This was going to be so fucking hard.

What even were they to each other now? She said that she loved him, so she at least remembered that much. His dad had been right that there were some things a poorly cast memory charm couldn't take away. But did that mean she wanted to still be together? Did it mean that they were?

He didn't want to have that conversation because he was terrified of what one possible option was. But they had to. They couldn't do this awkward skirting around of everything.

The sound of the shower turning on and the curtain being pulled reached his ears, and he was disgusted with himself for letting his mind wander to images of Erin on this very bed and less than fully clothed not so long ago.

That was something he definitely needed to shove far to the back of his mind right now.

"Al?"

Her nervous voice echoing in the bathroom had him sitting up, his wand in his hand as he quickly made his way down the hall.

"Erin?" he called, rapping his knuckles against the closed door. The water was still running, but Erin opened the door, wrapped in one of the dark green towels he remembered her picking out before she and Rose moved in. But he was more concerned with the frightened look on her face.

"I...I haven't really been alone since it happened," she said. "And even though I can't remember it…"

"You're scared," he said. It wasn't a question. She looked terrified of so much as closing the door and being unable to be sure of his presence. Her dragging him to her room and hesitating before leaving it made sense now.

"Can you...can you just sit in here?" she asked hopefully. "Just knowing you're there will help, I think."

Al didn't have to even think before nodding. She opened the door all the way in obvious relief, and Al closed it behind him and even locked it to help her feel more secure before stowing his wand in his pocket. There was an uncomfortable moment as she stood there fiddling with the edge of the towel, and then Al was quick to turn around. He didn't move until he heard the shower curtain tugged shut. With a sigh and now putting in even more effort to not think about his naked girlfriend, he turned back around and sat in front of the door, his eyes closed and his head resting against it as he grew warm with the steam from the shower.

"Al?" she asked softly, as if making sure he was still there.

"I'm here," he said, keeping his eyes closed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he assured her. "Would talking help?"

She hesitated. "Maybe. Not sure what to talk about, though."

There was an edge of humor to her voice, and it warmed Al to hear it. Yes, things were awful, but they still needed to find ways to smile. They could talk about this and figure out how to make it okay.

"Well, do you have any questions?" he asked. "I'm sure Rose filled you in on just about everything."

"She didn't, actually," said Erin. "She told me some, but I didn't really feel like hearing everything. Especially if I was going to remember it all on my own anyway. But now…"

Al cleared his throat uncomfortably. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy to talk about as he thought. "Well, you still might," he said encouragingly, "but they said talking about things might help, yeah?'

"Right," said Erin, her tone sounding nervous once again. He could tell she already had something she wanted to ask, but he had a feeling she wouldn't get there without his prodding.

"What is it?"

She let out a sigh. "Al, have...have we…?"

"Have we what?"

Erin groaned in frustration, and he could clearly imagine her clenched fists and tightened jaw. "Have we had sex?"

Al gulped, squeezing his eyes even more tightly shut. "No," he said. "No, we haven't."

He heard her give an obvious sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin."

He tried very hard to not let that bother him.

"But you've been in my bedroom?" she asked, now seemingly more comfortable with the topic of conversation. It probably helped that they couldn't see each other.

"Yeah," he said. "We've, uh, fooled around a little bit. Nothing too intense, but..."

There were a few moments of silence, and then, "Oh."

Al had no clue what to say. He knew he needed to be strong and supportive and help her work through all this, but it was hard to not be stung by the fact that she was disappointed they'd been intimate together in any way.

"Have you seen me naked?"

The question was so blunt that it had Al's eyes popping open. "Er...only partially."

Uncomfortable silence reigned once again.

"Do you…" he began uncertainly. "Do you actually want details, or…?"

He waited for her to answer, unsure if he wanted her to say yes or no. But she didn't say either. And he was shocked to hear the sound of her softly crying a moment later.

"Erin?" he asked in concern, standing and taking a step towards the shower. Not that he could actually do anything. "Love, what's wrong?"

She let out a groan of misery. "Don't say that, please."

"What?"

"Just...don't call me 'love'."

Her words felt like a punch to the gut, but he had to push through it for her. "Okay."

This only made her cry harder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just hate this."

Al closed his eyes, breathing deeply and trying to control his racing heart.

"I hate that I can't remember everything I've shared with you," she said sorrowfully. "You've been so - so sweet and you're probably hurting too, but hearing you say that just reminds me of everything I've missed and I...I just wish I could fix this."

A heavy sigh escaped Al and he leaned against the wall. "I know," he said. "I do too."

He stood there while she calmed down, sniffling softly as the water continued to fall. She shut it off a moment later, and Al automatically turned to face the door again.

How they were going to get through the rest of the evening let alone forever was lost on him. He wanted to tell her it would all be okay and comfort her and hold her and kiss her, but he couldn't. It had been difficult to hold back, but after that first night in the hospital where he'd kissed her before knowing she couldn't remember and then held her till she fell asleep, doing anything like that didn't feel right. Not when it was the most natural thing in the world to him yet so unfamiliar to her.

At least she didn't seem to be disappointed that they'd been together, just that she'd missed it.

After a few minutes where he tried not to listen to the sound of her getting dressed, delicate hands rested against his back, and he nearly collapsed in relief. Her slender arms wrapped around his waist a moment later and she rested her head between his shoulder blades, her damp hair soaking through his shirt. She'd put his jumper back on, and Al smiled as he rested a hand over hers.

"Al?"

He merely hummed in response.

"Can you kiss me?"

He turned in her arms to face her. She was nervously biting her lip and her eyes were a bit red from her tears, but she didn't pull away, her hands now pressing against his back and his own caressing her arms.

"Why?" he asked, kicking himself a bit for hesitating, but knowing it was important.

"Because I can't remember it," she said softly, her eyes flickering to his lips before meeting his gaze again. "I mean, you did the other night, briefly, but...I barely remember that and it was before they tried to jog my memory. I'm supposed to be focusing on the things that I do remember and seeing if I can get myself to remember more, and the first thing I thought of when I saw you after I first woke up in the hospital was how much I...how much I love you. But I can't remember what it's like to be with you. And I want to."

Al took a few calming breaths, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo, his eyes drawn to her slightly parted mouth as he moved his hands up to her shoulders and then to her neck. Her hair was wet against the back of his hands, cooling and calming him a bit. She licked her lips and watched him in anticipation, and Al brushed his thumb along her jaw before ducking down to kiss her, his mouth softly meeting hers as a soft gasp escaped her.

He had to remember that this was new to her, and he needed to take it slow.

But then she was suddenly kissing him like there was no tomorrow, her lips moving eagerly against his as he struggled to keep up at first. And then they were falling into a familiar rhythm, one that Al had been afraid to want again. He tangled his hands in her wet hair, trying not to over think what he was doing but knowing anything he could do that he'd done before could help her remember. And he really wanted her to remember.

Then again, the fact that there was nothing awkward or hesitant about the way they were kissing had him thinking she remembered more than just how she felt about him.

Their kisses grew softer until they were simple, loving pecks, and Al moved his hands to cup her cheeks and looked down at her searchingly. She seemed a bit dazed as she blinked up at him, her lips plump and pink as she breathed heavily.

"I kissed you first, didn't I?"

For the first time in days, Al genuinely smiled. "Yeah, actually. You did."

She nodded, a small smile playing at her own lips. "And we've definitely done that in a broom cupboard."

Al laughed, the relief flowing through him and tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he pulled her close, her head resting against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "You really remember that?"

"I remember how good we are at it," she mumbled into his chest, causing Al to chuckle again. "But it was more flashes of moments than full memories."

Al squeezed her a little tighter and kissed the top of her head. "It's a start."

Erin let out a sigh of contentment and snuggled further into his chest. "Can you stay with me tonight? Just to sleep. I don't know if you were planning to sleep on the sofa and I know things haven't been exactly smooth between us these past few days. But this...you are the only thing that makes sense to me. And I doubt I'd even be able to fall asleep on my own."

Al rested his cheek against the top of her head as he heard the front door open, signally Rose and Scorpius were back. Their moment alone was over, but it had been enough. He was going to have to thank his cousin later.

"Of course I can," he said. "I can't imagine being anywhere else."

A/N: Finally we get more Erin! I know it's from Al's POV, but you get her POV next chapter. Thanks for reviewing and really looking forward to hearing from you after this one! I'm getting very excited about where things are heading. So many thoughts and plot points and I can't wait to bring it all together for you all. I hope you enjoy it!