Chapter 1

Soundtrack - Eskimo Joe "London Bombs"

She walked down the cold Hogwarts hallway. As evidenced by the deathly silence broken only by the sound of her hurried steps there was not a single soul around. Torchlight illuminated the bare stone walls with occasional pictures of sleeping wizards on them. It was a deep night, she should have been sleeping for a long time now, if everything was as usual but ... Hermione glanced at her watch and stopped abruptly. Ten more minutes. The tension pulsed in her temples and it felt like her head was about to explode. She squeezed her eyes so tight she could almost see flashing circles, her nails were painfully digging into her palms. At one point she was ready to start screaming from an unbearable pain. No, not the physical one - her soul was being torn apart by an impending doom and endless sorrow which made her suffer so much. But only one thought helped her to pull herself back together: everything will be back to normal.

She will be back to normal.

Hermione opened her eyes, took a deep breath and continued walking down the narrow hallway, trying not to think about what was waiting for her at the end of it. Soon the familiar door appeared and her heart skipped a beat. There was a moment when she wanted to turn around and run away, but Hermione knew that there was no turning back. On wobbly legs she stepped closer, muttered the Unlocking Charm and stepped inside...

"Hermione! Hermione-e-e! Get up already, you will doze away the time!" Hermione shivered - someone pulled her blanket off and interfered with her dream.

She quickly got out of bed. Yes, it was just a dream. Hermione felt both relief and disappointment that she never got a chance to look inside the room she was rushing towards along the cold school hallway.
"Wow! What a surprise! I didn t expect to wake you up so soon," the red-haired troublemaker flopped down on the bed. "You aren't mad at me, are you?"

Hermione frowned at her. It's difficult to answer clearly considering the fact that she asked Ginny so many times not to wake her up in such a manner. But there was absolutely no point talking about it: the youngest Weasley will do whatever she wants anyway.
Hermione looked around. A familiar small bedroom was upholstered in wood and barely had enough room for a small bed, a desk and a wardrobe. However, despite all that, the room was very bright and cozy. Pictures of the Weasley family hung on the walls: here they are in Egypt, all happy and tanned, waving at her; here they are at King's Cross Station, no longer at full strength with Charlie, Bill and Percy are missing from it; on the other magical photograph there were only Ginny and the twins, sitting on the porch of their house and laughing themselves to tears over something. Hermione's heart sank painfully as she looked at Fred. So carefree on the picture and doesn't know that very soon the war will take away his life, and a little part of everyone who has ever known his cheerful boy personally with it.
Hermione shook her head, trying to put away the disturbing memories that still made her cry into her pillow after so many years.

"What time is it?" she asked Ginny sleepily.

Ginny broke into a wide smile and threw back her long flame red hair.

"It's six in the morning, honey! Great things await us!" Ginny said enthusiastically, jumped off the bed, and walked towards the exit with light dancing motions. "Now get dressed while I make us some tea."
Hermione opened her mouth in indignation, trying to say something, but then silently closed it. No, this has gone too far. Ginny is always waking her up, but not this early! The rising anger made her fists clench. At that very moment, the door slammed shut, announcing that the youngest Weasley was already gone.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Hermione raised her voice and said sternly. "Come back immediately and tell me why in the name of Merlin you woke me up so early!"
The door carefully opened, and a guiltily smiling face of a red-haired witch appeared in the split.

"Please, Hermione, don't be angry! I know that I have no excuse, but there s something important that I want to share with you. And remember, I can hardly do this if you sharpen your Unforgivable Curses skills on me," Ginny rattled and finally stepped back into the room.
Hermione stared in bewilderment at her friend who, it seemed, couldn't find a place for herself andlooked lost. There was no trace of the younger Weasley's cheerful carelessness. Is it just her or is Ginny terribly nervous? Hermione assumed that from the very beginning she was just trying to hide her real emotions under the guise of exhilaration, but now they took over.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" Hermione asked worriedly, peering into her face. This behavior was atypical for a tomboy like Ron's little sister. What made her so nervous?

"I don't know where to speaking, it s not like this was unexpected or anything..." nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Ginny sat down next to Hermione, trying not to meet her gaze. "But still, I want you to be the first one to know about this as soon as possible."
After these words, hiding her eyes, she nervously got out of the bed again and went to the window. Hermione patiently watched her, mentally scrolling through various options for what Ginny could tell her. Perhaps it has something to do with Ron? Ginny used to tell Hermione all sorts of ridiculous stories that her brother was involved in. Or is it related to Ginny's mother, Molly? She hasn't been feeling very well lately, what if something has happened? No, though. In either case, Ginny hardly would have acted this way. Suddenly, a vague guess came to Hermione. What if...
As if continuation of her thoughts, Ginny took a deep breath and decisively turned around, looking at Hermione intently:

"Harry proposed to me and I said yes, so now... We are getting married!"

Hermione froze in shock. Suddenly everything came together into a single picture. Of course, how could she not have guessed right away?!

In few seconds, a whole range of feelings blossomed in Hermione's heart: amazement, followed by shock, then epiphany with awareness of the situation and, in the end, sincere joy.

"Basically, it s pretty unsurprising, I mean, we have been planning to get married for a long time, but..." before Ginny finished, she was almost strangled in Hermione's arms.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm so happy for you two! Ginny, this is amazing!" Tears of happiness welled up in Hermione's eyes.

After all, from the very beginning she saw how the love of Harry and Ginny was born, how much they both had to suffer in order to be together. Hermione knew that Ginny was looking forward with all her heart to the next step in the development of her relationship with Harry, but for some reason Potter was in no hurry to ask her to marry him. It seemed that until the very last moment he couldn t believe that the war was over, his beloved ones were no longer in danger, and everything was just fine. Only over the past year, Harry began to change in a quite noticeable way, slowly coming out of a state of lingering melancholy. And Hermione suspected that a marriage proposal from him wouldn t be long in coming.

And now she was so sincerely delighted for her friends that her heart was bursting with happiness, as if she had been proposed. But to be honest, Hermione received such an offer once, albeit not quite as directly.

Ron started talking about their future together once. At that moment he blushed long and hard, shifting from foot to foot, but still blurted out in one breath: "I would like us to get married. So, we d have a big house and lots of children. Well, or something like that."

At the time, they had already dated for about two years and were close enough to move on to a new stage of the relationship, only Hermione doubted whether she needed it now: a wedding, a family, children. She worked at the Ministry of Magic almost day and night, and therefore it was very difficult to find the time for anything else.

But one thing was absolutely clear: Hermione had become incredibly and deeply attached to Ron during the entire time of their school years, and the war had made them almost a single whole. But did she really love him the guy who was ready to do anything for her, whose puppy loyalty left no doubt that he really adored her? It was one of the few questions Hermione didn't know the answer to.

She was undoubtedly very grateful to Ron for every minute they spent together, except when he acted like a complete fool; but even that couldn't spoil her sincere affection for this lanky red-haired guy.

For a while, it even seemed to her that it was true love. But the longer they dated, the more she realized that her "love" is more of a sisterly feeling than what is usually said "lived happily ever after about. And, nevertheless, she continued to go on dates with him, accept and give gifts, kiss him gently or passionately hug him at night. It was all so... Simple? Habitually? Right?

The Weasleys became her family; almost no one doubted that in the near future Hermione would also bear their name and be considered an official member of this good-natured pure-blood dynasty.

However, on that day, almost six months ago, she behaved very differently from what Ron had expected: Hermione was silent for a long time and, finally, started stuttering that "they need to think about it, it's too early, they aren t ready for such a serious step". Ron looked utterly unhappy and blushed more and more every minute. Hermione probably felt no better, for she knew perfectly well that now she could lose him forever. It turned into another argument, but, thanks to her wisdom, the conflict soon was subsided. In the end, together they decided to cool off a bit and think things over. Both knew that they needed to take time out in the relationship and return to a friendship. But still, it was obvious to both of them that everything, in reality, was up to Hermione. She d only had to hint and they d be back together.

But six months have passed, and she hasn t decided anything; instead of figuring out herself, Hermione seemed to become even more confused about her feelings and desires. It was unbearable to see the eternal painful question in Ron's eyes, but it became even more unbearable because she couldn t answer it in any way. She couldn't yet.

"Hey Hermione! Hermione-e-e! You're crushing me!" Ginny said playfully, pushing her away from her, and immediately added anxiously: "Is something wrong?"

And Hermione, smiling sadly, just shook her head. On this bright day, there should be no place for sadness, especially in the life of her best friend which Ginny has become over the past three years.

"How can something be wrong when two of my dearest friends are getting married?!" Hermione asked, trying to distract herself from gloomy thoughts and at the same time hoping that Ginny wouldn t ask her about the reasons for the fleeting sadness. "But now I'm only interested in the answer to one question: when?"

"I don t know," Ginny replied with a perky laugh. "You see, Harry asked me to marry him just half an hour ago."

"This early? He woke you up just to ask you to marry him?!" Hermione was surprised at the originality of her friend.

"Well, we haven't slept for a long time... If you know what I mean," the red-haired beast winked and looked at her meaningfully, which made Hermione's cheeks slightly flushed.
Of course, she has known for a long time about the rich intimate life of her friend and turned to her for advice herself more than once. Ginny wasn t easily embarrassed, but she herself could make anyone blush with her immodest stories. However, it was thanks to her that Hermione was well informed in matters of sex. The younger Weasley gave her detailed instructions on how to behave on the first night with a man, even if this man was her brother.

"Okay, I have to go back to Harry, he is probably worried," Hermione was torn from her memories by Ginny's voice, and then she headed for the exit from the room. "Once again, forgive me for waking you up, but it was all soooo unexpected ... I just couldn't help but share with you, you know."
Hermione smiled softly.

"Of course I know. Thank you for telling me about the wedding first. I really do appreciate it," she thanked her sincerely, giving her friend an affectionate look.
In response, Ginny hugged her tightly again, trying to put into this embrace all the feelings that she experienced, and then immediately disappeared behind the door.
Well, really, the news wasn t unexpected for Hermione. Everyone has been talking about the upcoming wedding of Harry and Ginny for a long time, not in the least doubt that this event is not far off. Hermione was undoubtedly happy for her best friends, only now... Why was something gnawing at her heart so hard? Probably because people talked about their wedding with Ron just as much, but the hopes were never fulfilled.

"You re probably wondering why we gathered you all so urgently," Ginny said in her sonorous voice, which made everyone hushed at once, and an absolute silence reigned in the room.

The small living room of the Weasley house was crowded with people: puzzled Ron; grinning George with his fiancee Jane; Bill, tenderly embracingbeautiful Fleur; a slightly pompous Percy (it's need to mention that his arrogance has diminished over the past four years); stocky Charlie, who didn't seem to have changed at all; Mister and Missis Weasley, looking expectantly at their daughter with the shadow of a slight smile it felt like they knew what was going on; shy and still a littleawkward Neville Longbottom, and next to him imperturbable Luna Lovegood, with her radish-shaped earrings that periodically changed their color; huge Hagrid in his horrible dress suit and finally Hermione, who looked at her friends with an encouraging smile.

"And not to further test your patience " Ginny continued, "Harry will take a word." She smiled radiantly at her future husband who was, to put it mildly, surprised that he would have to do the honors.

"You have to do it, Harry," Ginny whispered seriously so only the two of them could hear, but Hermione read her lips.

Harry pulled himself together and looked around at all the people in the hall who had been with him all this time. Surprisingly, he wasn't afraid of a fight with the darkest wizard of all time, he wasn tafraid of the dangers that awaited him at every step, he wasn t afraid to die at any moment. But now... There was a feeling that a nasty lump was stuck in his throat, and he looked like he d been hit with Confundus, and more than took a deep breath and glanced at his friends: Hermione smiled at him encouragingly, noticing out of the corner of her eye Ron looking around all confused. It looks like Harry never had time to tell his best friend, although he probably knew that Hermione was aware.

Finally, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, Harry blurted out:

"Ginny and I decided to get married. The wedding will be in the fall, in September, although we haven't yet decided on the exact date."

"And we want you all to be with us on this happy day," Ginny added, blushing slightly. "It svery important to us."

For several seconds there was such silence as if those present were digesting what they d just heard, and then everything exploded with a dozen joyful voices, and everyone rushed to congratulate the future newlyweds.

Hermione leaning against the doorframe, watched the joyful bustle that reigned in the living room. Harry and Ginny were drowned in the warm embrace of friends and family, so only she and Ron remained in their places. Ron? Hermione quickly looked at her friend, who stood rooted to the spot with a petrified face. "This was expected," flashed through Hermione's head, and she walked over to him.

"Ron... " Hermione called him, but he didn tpay any attention, and only when her hand touched his shoulder, slightly shuddered. Choosing her words carefully, Hermione continued:"Ron, they've been dating for a long time and it's not such a surprise..."

"Did you know?" he cut her off abruptly, diligently examining the blue vase.

Hermione was at a loss for a while, but immediately pulled herself together:

"I Don t think that I found out about this long ago, just "

Ron again didn't let her finish. Instead, he clenched his fists, turned towards her and finally looked straight in her eyes.

"You knew."

From his lips, this phrase sounded like an accusation, and only now Hermione understood the reason for his displeasure.

"He didn't tell me either, Ron. Ginny did - earlier this morning when everyone was still asleep. I'm not even sure Harry knows about that," she said quietly without looking away. "Besides, I think your grievances are quite inappropriate in this case. Just look how happy they are."

Hermione waved her hand towards her friends. Hagrid was just wiping away the tears that had come up with a huge dirty handkerchief, hugging Ginny with his other hand, while Missis Weasley was kissing Harry on both cheeks. The flushed younger Weasley, seeing that Ron and Hermione were looking at her, waved her hand and made a face at her brother. Hermione waved back and looked at Ron warily. It seems, two conflicting feelings were struggling inside him, as you could tell by the way he clenched and unclenched his fists and shifted from foot to foot. Finally, he lifted his head proudly and walked towards Harry and Ginny.

"Ron!" Hermione called him, but he just waved her off and kept walking. She bit her lip, silently praying that he wouldn't do something stupid.

Harry smiled apologetically when he saw his friend. The round glasses slid slightly to one side, and the already disobedient head of hair seemed to be even more disheveled. When there were only a few steps left between the friends, Ron stopped abruptly and looked at Harry with some challenge, then turned his gaze to Ginny:

"And I, by the way, already knew everything. Knew he would propose to you."

"And how did you know ?" Ginny teased her brother, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I accidentally found the ring while looking for my Quidditch gloves," Ron smiled somewhat embarrassed. "And, well, uumh...congratulations!"

Ron embraced his sister awkwardly and then after a moment of hesitation he shook Harry's hand.

"Take care of her, mate," he said sentimentally, looking firmly at his friend."I don t know why, but she loves you more than all of us put together."

"And I love her more than my life," Harry replied seriously after which Ron nodded curtly and sniffing walked aside.

It was an incredibly touching moment. Hermione wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and walked over to her best friends. Without a word she hugged Ginny and then Harry tightly. She was sure that they would understand everything without further ado. And after hearing a quiet "Thank you" from Harry, she was convinced that she was right.

* * *
20.07.2002

I remember the moment when I saw her for the first time. It was somewhere in Italy, in one of those similar cities that differ only by name. By that time, father had already been in prison for two years and mother having fallen into a prolonged depression often brightened up her endless loneliness with alcohol. As for me, I was just trying to get away from my filthy life moving from city to city. Letters from so-called "friends", relatives and those who needed something from me (as a rule, they were bastards from the Ministry of Magic) chased after me like meaning of all the letters was the same, with the only difference in the wording: while Parkinson begged to return to his mother's family estate and asked "to stop running away from all this shit that remained after the war", Lucius, on the contrary, argued that I in fact was "a cowardly shit that is not worthy to bear the proud name Malfoy". Fuck you Lucius, even though you're right as always. Only I don't care about that, as I don't care about the drunken letters from my mother, claiming that I'm an ungrateful brute. And I don't care about the fall of the Dark Lord. Don't give a damn about the whole filthy life left in England.

In general, I don tremember what brought me to Italy, but I remember why. I also remember the moment when I first met her.

With short and thin black hair and long slanting bangs that covered half of her face, she somehow resembled a boy with her unhealthy thinness and deathly pale skin. She seemed to be the only girl in this dilapidated old pub, although of course she wasn't. It's just that all the others faded in comparison with her unusual appearance for Italy. She was sitting at a table in the company of four suspicious-looking dorks in shabby robes and was talking loudly in Italian, actively gesturing. I walked over to the bar wondering if she was local or not, and ordered a double shot of Fire whis key from the sad-eyed old bartender. After taking a long sip I continued to watch her. Ash, shabby, but undoubtedly expensive mantle, skin too pale for an Italian woman, which seemed to glow in the dim light of the room, a daring short haircut, big black eyes, heavily lined with black - there was a certain challenge and something else...

I was distracted from my thoughts by the chesty voice of the bartender who said someone's name Alice Carrera. Looking around I saw that he was looking at me. The glance was obviously addressed me. When I asked what he was talking about, the old man wearily explained that the girl I was staring at was Alice Carrera. She came here every Friday for almost a whole year, and all the time she was trying to squabble with someone. The bartender also said that the girl's personality wasn't that sweet, so it's better not to even approach her, especially when she's talking to "those ones". I looked in their direction and saw that they were wrying their mouths in displeasure, listening to a furious tirade in their address from the brunette, and I decided that the bartender was right.

Having dryly thanked the old man for the information, I again turned in her direction. Alice Carrera. I rolled this name on my tongue as if tasting it, and at that moment she fell silent and looked at me. Slightly narrowed her eyes, she gave me a look as if challenging my strength, receiving the same look back from me. This silent game ended with us sitting at the same table just an hour later, and shagging in a cheap hotel room two hours later. At the moment I didn't fully realize what all this would lead up to, but had a vague feeling that from that moment on my life would change drastically. And I was right.

P.S. It's weird as hell, but I think you're the only one I can tell all this nonsense about my life. Even though you are just a diary.

D. M.

Hello guys! I m the author of this work - Jane Evans, and it s very exciting for me to present it to you. I want to thank the translators Triss666 and sannflower, as well as the editor kkhamova, who madeit possible. I hope that the The Maze of Memory" will find it s place in hearts of English-speaking readers, and, nevertheless, I will be very grateful for your feedback and comments on the text so that we can make it better. The main action will startaround Chapter 3, so if you want to find out what the story has to do with the resort, dancing, passion on the seashore and, of course, the magic of love, then you better subscribe so you wouldn t miss an update! We ll be glad to see everyone. O

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