Hermione Granger

Hermione woke up slowly, it was difficult to move her body, her eyelids feeling like they had weights on top of them. She could feel the presence of two people close to her who hadn't yet spoken and she struggled to move her hand looking for her wand.

Her lashes barely parted and the light stabbed into her eyes making them water, her hand came up slowly sluggishly to try to block the worst of the light so she could look around.

"Lower the lights." One of the two wizards in light green robes standing by her bed murmured. Immediately the room darkened, and she lowered her hand to look at them and the room around her. She was in a hospital room, St Mungo's judging from the light green uniform robes the wizards wore.

Her head hurt terribly and it was a struggle to stay awake and not sink back into unconsciousness. One of the healers laid a gentle hand on her arm anchoring her to what was happening.

"My name is Healer Brown, and this is Healer Murphy. How do you feel?"

She opened her mouth to reply and realized her throat was so dry she couldn't speak. She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice work.

"A glass of water." The Healer Brown motioned to his counterpart and the glass was transferred to his hand and he gently lifted her head up so she could sip from the glass.

Although Hermione wanted to snatch it up and drink it all greedily, she found she could barely manage a few swallows. She sighed when he gently laid her head back, still looking down at her.

"Thank you." Her voice was scratchy and it still hurt a bit to talk, as if she wasn't used to it. Healer Brown observed her intently.

"How do you feel?" He asked again.

"I think… I think I'm okay? It's just hard…" Her voice slowed, exhaustion with just small amount of time she had been awake pulling at her. "I'm tired."

"We'll let you rest in just a minute. Can you answer some questions for me?"

Her hands shifted restlessly on the bed again, where was her wand? She nodded at the healer.

"What year is it?"

"1999."

"Who is the prime minister?"

"Shacklebolt."

"What is your name?"

"Hermione Jean Granger." She paused, thinking of the questions, why were they asking her this? How did she end up here? Where was Ron?

"Why-" She was cut off when there was a loud boom in the hallway outside her room, she flinched her hand moving with more urgency despite her exhaustion.

The door flew open amidst shouts, banging into the wall, but she calmed down as soon as she saw Harry Potter's furious face. Everything was going to be alright now.

The healers were trying to stop him from entering but he shook them off, she watched half in a daze wondering why he looked different. Bigger, scarier, more dangerous than he had … when had he last seen him? Harry's hair was standing on end, like he didn't know brushes existed. His face was strangely different, he had grown a thick beard that covered the lower half of his face, there were dark circles under his eyes and anger pulsed through his magic like waves.

The last thing she remembered was taking her N.E. , getting ready to move in with Ron. They slept together most nights anyway it wouldn't be a big transition. Harry was always busy with MLE, either in training or cases. She hadn't seen him in a few weeks. Still despite the strangeness of his appearance it was unmistakably her best friend.

Harry rushed to her bedside pulling her gently into his embrace his head burying in the curve of shoulder his beard tickling slightly, and she lifted her arms slowly to hug him close to her. She smelled his Harry smell, sunshine, polished wood and butterscotch. He really was here, she felt herself relax, the fight against the exhaustion didn't seem as important. Her eyes slid slowly closed as she rested against him, her fingers latching on to his shirt collar to anchor them from falling.

She heard the cautious steps as the healers that had run in after him approached him. "Auror Potter, the evaluation is not yet finished and we need you to leave the room."

Harry glanced over his shoulder at them, his green eyes flashing dangerously. "I am not leaving my wife."

Wife.

His wife.

What?

She tried to make sense of it and pain stabbed into her head. Her hands released his collar, sliding down his chest and she forced her eyes open again. She pushed gently against Harry trying to get him to give her space. He reacted instantly to her gentle push, laying her back down and moving back a pace. His green eyes were concerned and intent on her face.

"Hermione?"

She shook her head at him, trying to make sense of what she heard him say. Her exhaustion was making it more difficult to think. Whatever he saw in her eyes made his darken with hurt. He allowed the healers to drag him out of the room, not taking his eyes off hers, until the door closed quietly after them.

Healer Brown sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took her hand gently giving it a squeeze of comfort.

"I'm sorry that happened, he's been very worried for you."

"Why did he say that?"

"That you're his wife?"

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Yes, why would he say that?"

"You only answered one of the three questions correct. Shacklebolt is indeed the current minister of magic. However, it is 2006 and your name is Hermione Jean Granger-Potter."

Hermione heard the words but her mind wouldn't let her understand them. She wanted to ask questions. She wanted Harry back and get that look off his face, maybe smack his shoulder for playing this weird joke. She wanted to have a meltdown.

Instead, her eyes closed against her will and she passed out.

Harry Potter

Harry sat in a tiny room, in front of a tiny desk that was crowded with magical texts on healing. His hands gripped the arms of the chair like he sat on like it was a roller coaster, working on keeping his face blank as the Healer droned on.

"We are very lucky Auror Potter that she even woke up, we have studied the corrupted snitch and the dark enchantment was quite powerful, when it hit your wife, it should have completely ceased her brain function. We're lucky the snitch was damaged, and only partially injured her long-term memory."

Lucky.

He pulled on his occlumency training, walling off the need to completely lose his mind and scream at the healers that no he didn't feel lucky. He wanted his wife back. His throat worked as he tried to force the words out.

"So she's never going to get those memories back?"

The Healer gave him his professionally compassionate look. "It would be best to move forward as if those memories are gone. The damage to her mind created a fragility, think of her mind like a castle- there's rooms for her hobbies, for her likes, dislikes and memories. When the snitch exploded and she took that blast it rocked the foundation, parts of her castle are gone now- and the remaining structure is precariously balanced."

The healer couldn't have chosen a worse metaphor. The images of the battlements of Hogwarts crumbling, the fires flashing in Harry's mind. Hermione.

"That means she's still at risk of further injury?"

"It means she's in the process of recovery and the rebuilding process takes time. During that recovery period she has to be kept calm, introduce things slowly to her. No stress, nothing that will cause high emotions, understand?"

Yeah for sure, he was going to be able to keep Hermione from pushing herself. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly for a moment.

He opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of the healer, determined.

"I understand."

Hermione

St Mungos

1 week later

Hermione sat up in the hospital bed, avoiding looking at her husband who sat slouched in a chair to the left of her. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, his arms crossed over his chest, his legs spread out and relaxed despite the fact she knew he was angry.

She had studied him intensely this man who was Harry Potter, but wasn't quite her Harry Potter. Harry who said they were married and had been for two years. He was different in so many different ways, but how he subdued his anger probably the biggest.

Harry had always had trouble when he became furious, it bursting out him without control, his voice raising. His anger had been rare but still there, like sudden lightning storms when normally he was normally a beautiful spring day.

He was different now, she knew he was angry but he kept it subdued, smiling at her when appropriate, his voice even and his touch gentle. He was like a tiger trying to be a kitten for her, cute and rolling around but every once in awhile she saw the flashes of his claws and teeth.

"After discussion, our recommendation is that you continue your recovery at home. Being in a familiar environment with your personal items may help your mind recover your lost memories."

Home with Harry? Where was that? Grimmauld place? That had never felt like home to her, her last memories of it were the desperation she felt there during the war. Being with Ron.

She kept her gaze firmly on the healer. "What if… What if I stay somewhere else?"

She heard a muttered fuck from Harry's direction but didn't look at him. "Mrs. Potter, it would help you recover faster to get back into your normal routine. Injuries such as yours are very delicate, there is not much we can do magically to recover them due to the nature of the damage. So, our hope is your mind will heal and you may recover them naturally."

"Can I see Ron then? Before I go?" Healer Brown's eyes went past her to where Harry still sat.

"It might be best if you take it slower when you meet new people, your husband will help you and arrange those meetings in a low stress environment."

Hermione's lips tightened. She didn't want anyone arranging things for, she could arrange things for herself. She finally glanced fully at Harry, instead of sneaking glimpses through the corner of her eyes. He was looking at the doctor, but it was the expression on his face that caught her attention. His face was completely blank of expression, even the anger she had been feeling was gone, his presence muted. Occlumency. Harry had never been that good at it before, even after Snape's poor attempts at teaching him. When had he been able to shut down his emotions to this extent?

Hermione turned back to the Healer to try a different argument but Harry cut her off. "We redecorated Grimmauld years ago, you picked out the décor. I-" His nostrils flared briefly as he took a deep breath. "I moved into one of the spare bedrooms. Stay with me, Hermione? If you still want to move after a few months w-w-we'll talk about it."

Her heart tugged at the brief flashes of pain that broke through his expression. The idea that they were a couple of was strange, but her response to his pain was not, she had always wanted him to be safe and happy.

"Okay. Let's go to Grimmauld."

"Home." Harry corrected her softly.

Grimmauld Place

Hermione

Harry had side along apparated her to the front of the house. It still looked the same from the outside, dark and forbidding. He held her hand tightly as they walked up the steps to the house, opening the door for her.

When she stepped in she stopped shocked. The house must have been completely gutted to make such a change possible. The walls were painted a soft egg shell white and the floors gleamed cheerfully with honey maple wood. The furniture had the same effect, lighter colors, they looked comfortable and inviting.

"Wow."

Harry gave her a slight smile. "Yeah you did a good job. You should see what you did with the library."

Her eyes widened. "The library?"

He laughed. "I guess I should have brought that up first when you were hesitating to come home."

Despite his small laugh, other emotions lurked in his tone. She stared at him assessing, and he looked away from her not willing to let her see.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Rest."

She made a face. "I feel like I've been sleeping for weeks, I'm done with rest. I need to catch up on what I've missed."

"One hundred and three days."

"What?"

"One hundred and three days. That's how long you were in the coma."

"Oh." She couldn't figure out his tone, he was still looking away from her. "Where's my room?"

He started walking to the back of the house, going up a staircase, motioning her to follow him. He entered a second-floor hallway opening the first door they encountered.

"Here."

She stepped inside, the first thing that caught her eye was the large bed in the center of the room, it had dark red drapes that were tied back but looked like they could be closed, like the ones they used to have at the Hogwarts dorms. The room itself was Gryffindor themed colors, red and gold with cherry wood furniture. It felt comfortable to her, the décor and the colors and putting her at ease. She did like this room.

She turned back to Harry who had remained in the hallway, not entering the room. "I like it! I love the colors."

He nodded. "The second door right there is mine, the last one at the end is the library. We do have a third floor, its smaller though and we split it between a brewing room and training room."

"Training?"

He paused staring at her, his tongue briefly coming out to lick his bottom lip. "We practice dueling a lot together, to stay sharp."

Hermione tried to imagine it, dueling Harry in their house. Husband and wife. That didn't feel like her. She wanted to be Minister of Magic and fix that horrific governance of the magical community.

Instead, she was playing Auror with Harry. What happened to her?

She must have a made a face because Harry's eyes sharpened on her and there was a flash of anger in his face.

"I'll let you settle in then." He said abruptly and walked off to his room, the door closely with a firm finality that somehow communicated how badly he had wanted to slam it.

She gave a sigh and went back to her room. She went to the dresser inspecting the pictures displayed there.

There was one of her and Harry, their arms thrown around each other's waists dressed in Auror robes, her hand raised up and rested on his chest and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head. She watched it repeat several times, looking at the expression on their faces, how queer it felt to see a picture of yourself and have no memory of the event.

The picture next to it was even more unsettling. She was in a white thin strapped wedding dress, her curls loose but perfectly behaved, her arms were around Harry's neck as they danced. She couldn't see his expression from the way they were positioned by hers was front and center. Love, tenderness, desire. That other Hermione looked deeply in love.

She stared at the picture until it blurred, their faces stretching oddly as her eyes watered. She was in some bizarre reality and the one person she should have had to help her was a stranger.

The Harry down the hall was off putting, as if he was wearing the mask of her best friend.

Her eyes widened at that thought. A mask. Polyjuice potion.

She threw open the door and stormed to his room, knocking angrily.

He opened it cautiously looking at her like she was some time bomb about to go off.

"What did you give Dobby to set him free?"

"My sock."

"Who identified us at Malfoy manor?"

"Narcissa Malfoy."

He was good. She hesitated to ask the last question, only the real Harry would know. Hermione's voice lowered as she asked her last question.

"What did I tell you in the tent, after Ron left?"

Harry's green eyes darkened, and for just a minute she felt the thrill of fear, why hadn't she brought her wand? She had gotten so caught up in exposing him she hadn't thought it out.

"That you didn't want to die a virgin."

Oh.

She stared up at him the memories of that night between them. Harry would have never told anyone about that night. They had never even discussed it together after it happened. She backed up a step slowly, then turned and fled back to her room.

October 1997

Forest of Dean

The Camping Tent

Hermione

Hermione had her fist shoved against her mouth, trying to muffle the sound of her crying. It still felt loud to her, the soft rustling of the trees outside seemed to highlight how discoordinate and jarring her muffled breathing.

She heard Harry shifting but didn't open her eyes to look. He climbed in beside her wordlessly, shifting her so they both fit in the narrow bunk, then he pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

The pressure of his arms felt so good. Comforting. Like he was holding her together and if he let go she might fall apart. Her breathing slowed and the pressure on her chest eased.

"Thank you."

Harry's thumb rubbed lightly against her arm in acknowledgement, but he didn't speak.

"Do you think he's going to come back?"

"I don't know Hermione."

She sucked in a deep breath, letting the air out slowly. "Harry?"

"Hmm?"

She twisted and his arms released her and she turned to face him in the dim light of the tent, she could barely make out his features. It made it easier to ask.

"If something happens to me…"

"Nothing's going to happen to you." Harry's voice was fierce, his arms came around her again, his hands splayed pushing her closer to him. "I promise, we're going to win this."

She gave a faint smile. "Yeah we're going to win this. But…"

His mouth opened.

"Harry let me finish."

He closed his mouth with a click.

"I want you to help me with something, but you can never tell anyone else okay?"

He nodded and everything was still for a moment, as if waiting to see how brave she could be.

"I don't want to die a virgin."

Her hand shook a little as she raised it to cup his cheek, and pressed her lips softly against his.

"Hermione." Harry whispered against her mouth.

"Make love to me, Harry?"

He gave a low groan, his hands stroking her back up and down. "You're not making this choice because you want to, you're scared. I'm not going to help you do something you regret."

She pushed him over and straddled him before reaching over to grab her wand, pointing it at her belly and casting a quick contraceptive charm. She put her wand down then pulled off her shirt, leaning back down to kiss him. "You're my best friend. I love you. I would never regret my first time being with you."

Harry caught her hands as the went to slide under his shirt. "Please Harry."

He sat up, shifting them and burying his hands in her hair, and kissed her passionately. His tongue pushing into her mouth, exploring and sliding wetly along her own tongue. His arms braced around her and he pulled her under him, breaking the kiss, his mouth by her ear

"Please don't regret this Hermione, I don't think I could handle it."

"I won't." She promised.

They ripped at each other's clothes, both committed and eager to touch each other's bodies. She stroked her hands up his chest, feeling his lean muscles and the edge of his ribs. When he settled in between her thighs, she felt a bit awkward and exposed, her thighs stretching in a way she wasn't used to. She could feel his cock hard against her, a shiver went through her at the thought he would soon be inside her.

Harry seemed content to take his time, kissing her slowly while keeping her legs wrapped around his waist, moving her arms to lay them above her head, a little pressure letting her know he wanted her to keep them there.

His hands wandered slowly down her, lightly caressing her curves.

"You're so beautiful, Hermione." His voice came out in a husky whisper when he broke the kiss, starting drag his mouth lower on her skin, tasting her.

She squirmed against him at the feel of his hot mouth moving along the sensitive skin of her neck. She flexed her legs, the action pushing her pussy closer to his cock. He gave a grunt, his hand going down to squeeze her hip. "Don't move like that."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have enough control to handle it, and this will be over before its begun."

Oh. Well, that was a good reason. She struggled to relax back as he continued his meandering path down her body, licking and nibbling at her skin.

He cupped her breasts, his hands squeezing them firmly, and his mouth lowered onto her nipple.

She made a small desperate noise that would have embarrassed her if he had been in her right mind, but all she could think about was his hot mouth as he suckled her breast. She couldn't control her squirming under him, thrusting out her chest to give him better access.

He released her wet nipple with a low pop of sound, his hand going lower to her pussy, sliding along her clit. "I don't know how much this will hurt for you, you have to tell me okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'll tell. I promise."

Harry slid his finger in slowly, firmly, not stopping until she felt his hand pressed up against her. She grunted and gasped at the intrusion, a part of her mind absolutely freaking out that Harry was on top of her. Between her legs, doing this to her.

When he drew his finger back and then thrust two in, her arms wrapped around his neck. She pushed her lip against his, her tongue tracing his lips and he opened his mouth for her. She kissed him desperately, moving her tongue against his, as his fingers slid in and out of her. The wet sounds of the kiss and his fingers sliding her blending together erotically.

Harry withdrew them slowly, sliding his wet fingers along her clit, causing her to buck up her hips wanting more. Harry pushed his hands in her hair again, holding her still, and she felt him move his hips against her, sliding until his cock dipped into her entrance.

Keeping his face close to hers, he pushed inside her slowly, she felt it when he hit the barrier of her virginity. It felt like he just pushed through, not stopping until he was deep inside her. Her thighs trembled as she kept them tight around his waist.

They were both panting at the sensation. "Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?"

She shook her head desperately, it hurt, but she wanted him to finish. She wanted to feel him make love to her. "Tell me if you need me to stop." He whispered it as he withdrew slowly until he was half inside her, then pushed just as slowly back in.

She whimpered and twisted, her fingernails digging into his shoulders. Despite the pain she was so close, she just needed a little more. He fucked her agonizingly slowly, his cock withdrawing and sliding in so that she felt every ridge. Harry penetrating her over and over.

She could feel the sweat on both their skin as the bodies moved against each other causing the slap of their skin to seem even louder. She wanted to keep him inside her, with that thought she clenched her muscles. He jerked against her, moaning and lost his rhythm.

Oh. She smiled slyly in the dark. Harry liked that. She concentrated on timing her squeezing for when he thrust in fully.

"Hermione…" His voice came out hoarse and pleading. Then he reached down and started rubbing her clit as he thrust into her faster. She gave a short scream; it was like stars exploded behind her eyes. She heard him give a guttural moan against her neck and his hips jerked wildly against hers as he came inside her.

They panted against each other for a long moment, before he moved to the side, reaching for his own wand to cast cleaning charms on the both of them.

"Are you in any pain?"

She actually was quite a bit sore now that she wasn't caught up in the pleasure, but she weirdly didn't want it to go away. "No, I'm fine."

Harry laid down behind her again, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"I love you Hermione."

"I love you too, Harry."