AN: For my readers in the US, I hope you are having a great holiday weekend. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this story.
This chapter marks the beginning of part 2. Enjoy.
Lost Souls of Nott Castle
Chapter 25 - Rewind
Thursday was the most laid back day of the week. Hermione and Draco both had the Arithmancy test in the morning. Neither of them were testing for Muggle Studies, so all they had left was their individual practicum.
Each student had to take an individual test where their instructors had them demonstrate magic they had learned since first year for each of their NEWT subjects.
Hermione's test took place right after lunch. Because she had taken nine NEWT's, her individual test was one of the longest, scheduled to take three hours. Draco's mirrored hers, but was not scheduled to start until after dinner.
Her test went, unsurprisingly, very well. She was asked to perform simple magic like floating a feather, to more complex magic like conjuring flames and disillusionment charms. She was tasked with performing complex arithmancy calculations, reading astronomy charts, and brewing a rather simple pain relief potion from memory.
An Auror was brought in to assist with the Defense Against the Dark Arts portion.
"You know," she stated lazily "I've fought off Death Eaters and snatchers and I fought in a battle and survived. Shouldn't that count as my practical test for Defense?"
The Auror hid his laugh behind his hand.
"Fair enough, Miss Granger," he told her. "Would you prefer I go easy on you then?"
"Are you kidding?" She smirked at him, a habit she had picked up from Draco. Then she held out her hands and issued her challenge. "Bring it."
A slow grin spread across his face. Then, without preamble, he attacked. She blocked. And it was on.
He did not go easy on her at all, and neither did she. The professors that were also in the room at the time watched in fascination and pride as their student held her own against the head of the Auror department.
He drew first blood, a slicing hex across her arm. She put up a shield, switched her wand to her left hand and wordlessly healed the cut with a flick of her wrist. Then she sent a stinging hex followed closely by an expelliarmus. The stinging hex distracted him and his wand sailed through the air, landing smoothly in her outstretched palm.
Applause echoed through the room.
"Very nice, Miss Granger," Auror Robards told her as he met her in the middle of the room. "Are you sure you don't want to join the department? We would love to have you."
"Thanks." She smiled as she handed his wand back to him and shook his hand. "I'll leave that to Harry and Ron. I'm done with hunting down dark wizards."
"Well, if you ever change your mind, we would be lucky to have you."
Her professors all congratulated her on winning the duel. She left the Hall feeling lighter than air. She was done with her exams. She knew she had done well on them.
All she had left was to wait for Draco to finish his individual exam, then they could go back to Nott Castle and celebrate.
Draco was one of the last students scheduled to complete their practicum on Thursday evening. He was in the Great Hall with McGonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn, Sprout and Auror Robards. His professors took turns asking him to demonstrate various pieces of magic that he had learned over the years.
It had been a grueling two hours so far, and he still had an hour to go. He was demonstrating a rather complex transfiguration when the doors to the hall burst open and Theo ran in.
His heart stopped. Something was terribly wrong for Theo to barge in during his exam like that.
"Mr. Nott! We are in the middle of an exam here!" McGonagall scolded him.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but Draco, you have to come. It's Hermione. She fell down the stairs."
When he heard her name, everything else stopped.
He moved quickly to the door and out into the hallway. She was laying on the stone, her arm bent at an odd angle, and a pool of blood forming behind her ear. Several people stood around her, unsure what to do. Blaise, Weasley, the Patels, Longbottom and Daphne were all there.
He knelt down next to her and checked to see if she was breathing. He released the breath he had been holding when he felt her chest slowly rising and falling.
Behind him he could hear McGonagall asking questions about what happened, but he ignored everyone around them. Carefully, he scooped her into his arms and began the trek to the hospital wing.
He was moving in a daze. One step after the next with the weight of her limp form pressing against his chest. Theo and Weasley ran ahead of him and opened the doors so he could walk through.
Gently, he laid her down on the closest bed. Immediately, Madam Pomphrey moved him out of the way and started fussing over the unconscious witch.
He sat by her side while Pomphrey healed her broken arm, cracked ribs and the gash in the back of her head.
Then they waited.
The room was silent, despite the number of occupants. He looked around and saw that Theo, Blaise, Weasley, Longbottom and Daphne remained in the room, along with most of their professors.
"Did anyone see what happened?" He asked Theo.
"No, but she had her wand in her hand when she fell." He answered quietly.
Draco glanced around again, then his eyes hardened.
"Where the fuck is Potter?" He asked.
All eyes turned to Ron. He blanched and shook his head.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since this morning. His individual test was first thing."
Draco turned his attention to McGonagall. She sighed.
"I will check with Professor Flitwick and see if he's on campus." She left the room and the silence settled in again.
She had been unconscious for nearly three hours before she began to stir. First, her hand tightened around his. Then her eyes started to flutter. She gasped, then her eyes flew open and darted around the room.
She took in the faces of the people that were staring anxiously at her, finally landing on Draco.
"Thank Merlin you're awake," he said with a sigh of relief. "How do you feel?"
She looked at him, then at their joined hands, then back at him again.
"Malfoy?" She asked tentatively. "What the hell is going on?"
"You fell," he said. "Do you remember what happened?"
The look on her face showed confusion. She looked at their hands again. Her eyes blinked several times. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips as her eyes glanced around at the anxious faces staring down at her.
"I meant," she cleared her throat. "I mean why are you holding my hand?"
Draco stared at her for a long moment. Their eyes met and what he saw there stabbed him right through the heart. They were confused, yes, but otherwise cold and emotionless. The love and trust that had been there hours earlier was gone.
"Where did I fall? At the Ministry? Why are we at Hogwarts?" Her eyes darted around the room. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked her, cold dread already filling his heart.
"I was at the Ministry, testifying at your trial. But..." She looked at him again, this time scanning over him, taking in his appearance. "But you look much better than you did at the trial. Not as gaunt or pale. You have blood all over your shirt, though."
He looked down to see that she was right.
"It isn't mine," he said numbly. "It's yours."
Suddenly he realized what she was saying. She didn't remember the last eight weeks. She didn't remember falling in love with him.
His chest tightened painfully. He couldn't breathe. He was going to be sick.
"That was two months ago," he said quietly.
Hermione couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the hand that cradled her own, or the gray eyes that seemed to know her very soul.
She knew that she was missing something. She was missing something vital. She searched her mind but found nothing. No reason at all for Draco Malfoy to be sitting at her bedside, holding her hand and looking at her like she was the most important person in the world.
Tears started to form in her eyes. Something was very wrong. She could feel it. She could see it in the faces around her. She could hear it in his voice.
"What's wrong with me?" She asked brokenly. "Why can't I remember?"
"Oh, good! You're awake." Madam Pomphrey said as she bustled into the room. "The rest of you can leave now. Go on. She's going to need some rest."
She shooed everyone out of the room.
"You too, Mr. Malfoy." She stared at him impatiently until he gave her hand one last squeeze. Then he slowly pulled away from her and left. At the door, he turned and gave her one final look before leaving.
"Now, how are you feeling?" She asked Hermione.
"My head is pounding," she replied. "And I can't remember anything from the last two months."
Madam Pomphrey hesitated.
"Two months? Are you sure? That seems to be a very specific time frame." She busied herself getting a vial of pain relief potion and handing it to Hermione.
She sat up and took the potion. Then she ran her hands through her hair. Or she tried to. Her fingers got tangled in what she could only assume was dried blood.
"Malfoy had a lot of blood on his shirt," she said. "I hit my head when I fell? Could I have amnesia?"
"It is possible," the mediwitch replied hesitantly.
"Or someone did this to me?" She asked quietly.
"That is more likely." Pomphrey admitted reluctantly. "I'll send for a specialist to see if they can reverse it if that's the case."
"Is it okay if I take a shower?" She asked.
"Of course." She patted her on the arm and left the room.
Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror, but looked away quickly. She had dried blood all over.
She peeled off her clothing and looked at it curiously. She was wearing tan pants, a dark brown short sleeved blouse and brown boots that she had never seen before. She must have bought new clothes at some point in the last two months. Even her underwear was new, a red silk bra with matching panties.
She stepped under the water and started rinsing off. As she ran her fingers through her hair, her fingertips caught on something around her neck. She ran her fingers along the delicate chain that was hanging there and looked down to see a silver locket with her initials engraved in it.
She laid it back against her chest and proceeded to wash her hair. She kept thinking about the locket, though, trying to remember where it came from.
When she was satisfied that she had all the blood out of her hair, she turned off the water and dried off. Then she wrapped a towel around her chest and looked at herself in the mirror as she started combing her hair out.
Her eyes kept coming back to the locket that rested just under her clavicle. Once her hair was combed and twisted into a bun on top of her head, she let her curiosity get the better of her. She unclasped the chain from around her neck and held the locket in her hand.
She ran her thumb over the engraving, then gently opened the latch. She watched with wide eyes as the moving picture repeated itself over and over again.
The image was surreal. It was like watching a movie that she starred in, with no memory of ever filming it.
Her breaths grew shallow.
The couple in the moving picture were in love. It was obvious in the way she laid her head on his shoulder. The way their eyes met. The way they kissed each other, like they were meant to be together always.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even think. All she could do was watch.
With each cycle, another pain of loss ripped through her.
A love that she never thought she would ever know had been hers. She had that, and now it was gone. Someone had stolen it from her. From them.
Oh Merlin.
Why?
What else had been stolen from her?
She closed the locket and put it back around her neck. Tears streamed down her face. She didn't even try to stop them.
AN: okay...here we go! Let me know what you think.
Until next week - mezy