*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 19: Who Am I? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry immediately threw on some clothes as quietly as he could and left his room. Ron bumped into him in the hallway.
"Did you get the message?" Ron asked him as he threw on a sweater.
Harry just grinned as they both left the flat and apparated to Hogsmeade.
"What time do you suppose she woke up?" Ron asked as they opened the front doors to the castle.
"I don't know, but I told Dumbledore to owl me right away in case I wasn't there." Harry privately wished that he'd be the first thing she saw when he awoke.
"Who was on duty tonight?"
"Matheson."
"Matheson? He was bragging about a hot date he had tonight."
Harry had little time to ponder this as they met Dumbledore at the hospital wing door.
"Is she still in there?" Ron asked.
"What time did she wake?" Harry piped in. But his euphoria quickly disappeared at the serious look on Dumbledore's face. "What happened? What's wrong?" Dumbledore motioned to say something but Harry ran past him and into the hospital wing. "Hermione!" he exclaimed when he saw her sitting up in her bed. He ran toward her with a grin on his face, but before he could reach her, a figure stepped in and blocked him. "Malfoy, what are you doing here?"
"I traded with Matheson" he said plainly.
"But I didn't put you on the rotation."
"Yeah, I noticed that too."
They both continued to glare at each other until a voice got both of their attentions.
"Draco? Who is that?" Hermione asked.
Draco moved so Harry could get a good look at her.
"Hermione, it's me. Harry" he said uncertainly.
She looked at him up and down before she stared into his eyes. Harry's stomach flip-flopped when she did that. He stared back into hers. Their gaze was intense and he knew that she could feel it by the look in her eyes. However, it was quickly replaced by a searching look then confusion.
"I'm sorry" she said. "I don't remember you either."
"What about me, Hermione?" came Ron's voice.
Hermione looked at him for a while then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I…" But she couldn't finish as tears began to well in her eyes.
"Alright, that's enough for now. She needs to get some more rest." Madam Pomfrey had come out of her office and shooed everyone out of the door.
"Mr. Malfoy, will you stand watch outside while I talk to these two gentlemen?" Dumbledore motioned to Harry and Ron, once they were out in the hall.
They followed Dumbledore to his office. Harry didn't feel like talking, although Ron tried to make small talk with him. He just couldn't believe that she couldn't recognize him. But she was already on a first name basis with Malfoy? What was he doing there anyway?
"It appears that she has been obliviated" Dumbledore said to the men who sat in front of his desk.
Harry slumped forward, resting his forehead in his right hand. Ron's face had paled. Harry had a feeling they were both thinking the same thing: Lockhart.
"How bad is it?" Harry asked.
"Strong enough to wipe her memory, but weak enough that she will be able to recover."
"Recover? How?" Ron asked with hope in his voice.
"Her memory will return slowly. Certain events or emotions may trigger her memory." Harry gave out a sigh of relief. There was hope. "Reintroduce her to things slowly at first, see how she takes it" Dumbledore suggested. "In the meantime, I trust that you two will find out what she was up to before this unfortunate incident."
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Hermione waited as Madam Pomfrey (she had asked her name) flitted about her. She still had a fever and her body ached, but Madam Pomfrey had told her that she would be alright…physically. Mentally was another story. The old man named Dumbledore told her that her name was Hermione Granger and that she was a witch; magic did exist and that she was at Hogwarts. Her eyes widened when he said this. Somewhere deep down she must have known this about herself, for she had been trying to get here all along. Dumbledore had told her that a spell had been cast on her that made her forget her memory but there was a chance that she would regain it. For now, it was overwhelming to see strangers who claimed to be some part of her life, see the disappointment in their faces when she didn't recognize them. It was awful and painful. She hoped that she would regain her memory soon, but for now, she had so many questions. She looked at the man named Draco Malfoy who was standing in a corner. Once in awhile, they would lock gazes before he would quickly look away. She got the feeling that he was waiting for the nurse to leave them alone for a moment.
"Please try and rest Miss Granger. I will be out to check on you later" the nurse said before she turned and walked away.
Butterflies twitted about in her stomach and her face flushed with anticipation. She was alone with him. He strode over to her, hands in his pockets.
"You should get some sleep" he said.
"I'm not tired. What time is it?"
"Very early in the morning."
They fell silent again. Hermione watched him as one of his hands began to pick at the lint on her blanket. He looked as if he was holding something back.
"Why was I going to New York?" she asked him.
He looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"You asked me why I didn't go to New York. Why was I going there?"
He thought a moment before he answered. "Because that's where I sent you" he said quietly.
"You were sending me away? Why? What happened?"
Draco moved
closer to her and sat on the edge of her bed.
"I was afraid something like this would happen."
Hermione looked into Draco's silver eyes and saw desire flicker briefly within
them. He was sitting very close to her.
"You weren't supposed to be here, were you?" she asked. "I heard that man say that, so why were you?" her voice was flustered by his proximity.
"Because I wanted to be" he spoke low and huskily as he leaned closer to her.
"Who am I to you? I mean, what are we?"
He didn't answer her. His hand moved up to caress her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. His lips pressed against hers in a soft and tentative kiss, but before it could deepen, he pulled away from her.
"I'm sorry" he said. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Why?" she asked, feeling a bit sorry that he stopped. "Were we…Are we…?"
He suddenly jumped off her bed. "Why? Why didn't you get on that plane?!" She jumped in surprise at his tone of voice. "You were supposed to be safe! Nothing like this was supposed to happen. You..." but he was too upset to finish.
"Draco…"
"Stupid little mudblood" he said and quickly left the room.
Hermione watched him leave, feeling more confused than ever. Who were they to each other? And that word that he said; she had a feeling that it wasn't a term of endearment. She searched her mind for something. Anything. But nothing came to her. She threw a pillow that had propped her up across the room then lay down in frustration.
She must have fallen asleep again because when she awoke, the sun was filling the room with light.
"Hey, you're awake! How are you feeling?" asked a male voice.
Hermione blinked her eyes and sat up to face the green eyed, raven haired man she saw earlier. Her heart leaped into her throat and her stomach gave a small flip. She had not forgotten what she felt like when she first laid eyes on the handsome stranger, the intensity of his eyes when he looked into hers and the feelings they stirred within her. She flushed and searched for something to say, anything to say.
"Where's Draco?" That obviously wasn't something he wanted to hear as she watched his features suddenly darken. "And Dumbledore and the red haired man?" she added quickly. She really wanted to kick herself.
"Ron went out to get some of your belongings; Dumbledore is the Headmaster of this school so I'm sure he had business to attend to; I'm not sure where Malfoy is" he said this last part a bit coldly.
"And you? What are you doing here?" she smiled warmly at him desperately trying to restore the once pleasant atmosphere.
His expression softened a bit. "I'm the auror assigned to your case."
"Is that all?" she asked.
He smiled at her. "I'm also your friend. So is Ron, too. We were all friends when we went to school here."
"Well…friend, would you mind handing me an extra pillow so I can sit up?"
He grinned and she immediately felt herself melt into her bed as he grabbed a pillow from the next bed.
"Are you hungry or anything?" he asked as he propped the pillow behind her and helped her sit up.
Hermione wasn't sure if she was dizzy and weak from being sick or because he was so close to her. A loud CRACK!! startled her and she practically jumped into his arms. A curious looking creature with large eyes was standing at the side of her bed.
"I brought food for Miss Granger to eat. I wasn't sure what she would like so I brought everything" it said. Sure enough, the tray was loaded down with every breakfast food imaginable.
"Thank you Dobby. That was very kind" said her new found friend. The little creature beamed up at him, tears welling in his eyes.
"It's good to see you again, Harry Potter."
"It's good to be back."
And with another CRACK!! the creature disappeared. Hermione realized that she was still in Harry's arms. She made the mistake of looking up at him, her face now inches from his face. Her surroundings just faded away as she stared into his emerald eyes. It was too intense, she had to look away fearful of losing control.
"Um…Are you hungry?" he asked, trying to make conversation to steer away from what had just happened.
"Yes, a little" she said a little too eagerly. She looked at the tray of food before her with uncertainty.
"How about we share? I haven't had breakfast yet" he offered. She smiled.
"So, your name's Harry Potter?" she asked reaching for the toast on the tray.
"Yes it is. And you are Hermione Granger."
"And how exactly did we become friends?"
Harry was having a great breakfast with Hermione. He hadn't had so much fun with her in such a long time. It was great to see her laughing and smiling because of something he said. Lately, all he had been giving her was heartache and pain. But now, her whole face was lit up with joy. It made her look more beautiful than she already was. Harry never wanted it to end but he was afraid that it would. He was afraid that she would ask him if they were anything more than friends. What could he say? Did he have to tell her about their last night together in this castle? How he broke her heart? How she hated him now? For now, he had a bit of his old Hermione back. One that wasn't tainted by the pain that he had caused her, and he wanted to hold on to that as long as he could.
He had just finished telling her about how Ron and he had rescued her from a troll in their first year, when the hospital doors opened and Ron stepped through.
"Ah yes, and here is the infamous Mr. Ronald Weasley" Harry said making Hermione laugh. But Harry stopped smiling when he saw the look on his face.
"Harry…"
"So here you are!" came Cho's voice from behind Ron. Harry's face fell when he saw Cho walk into the hospital wing.
"I'm sorry mate" Ron whispered to Harry.
"I'm glad to see your doing better" Cho said to Hermione as she walked over to her. "Ron told me about your condition. Such a dreadful thing to happen. I'm Cho Chang, Harry's girlfriend, but you probably don't remember me. I was a year above you and in a different house." Cho then turned to Harry and smiled sweetly. "Honey, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"
"Um…yeah. We do need to talk" Harry said. He turned to look at Hermione who was giving Cho a most peculiar look before he stood up and followed Cho out of the door. They ran into Ginny on the way out, who was holding a bag.
"I brought Hermione some things" she explained. "Have you been here all night Harry?" she asked. Harry had a feeling that this comment was directed at Cho from the smug look on Ginny's face.
"Hermione's inside. I'm sure you can't wait to see her" Harry said pointedly.
Harry closed the door behind Ginny and turned to look at Cho. "Listen, Cho…"
"You left me Harry! I woke up alone; no one was home, no note to tell me where you were! I had thought maybe you had gone out to get breakfast for us or something, only to find out from your friend Ron that you were here!"
"I—"
"You could've at least left a note Harry. If Ron didn't come home, I might never have known where you were. Were you even going to come home and tell me?"
"Well—"
"It was inconsiderate, Harry. I'm your girlfriend! I have a right to know where you are. Although I should've figured it out on my own since you're here all the time!"
"Don't bring this up again!"
"Oh, I will keep bringing this up again as long as it remains an issue. Now, I'm sorry that your friend is in the hospital, but that doesn't mean that you have to live here. Besides, she's not really your friend anymore. Oh, yes, I know that she wants nothing to do with you. So why don't you respect her wishes and leave her alone?"
"Shut up! You know nothing about Hermione and me!"
"There is no Hermione and you! Don't you get it? She doesn't want you Harry! She's moved on! That's right, I read her file, the one you read every night in your room. I saw the pictures, Harry. She was with Krum."
"Stop it!"
"A lot of other guys are interested in her but she doesn't want you in that way anymore. But I do. I love you Harry. Why don't you let me do that? Let someone else have her, let someone else make her happy. Like Malfoy, he seems to be taking an interest in her, surprisingly. Maybe she made him turn a new leaf. She could be good for him. Let Malfoy have her."
"GET OUT!!!" Harry roared. Cho jumped back in fear. The glass in the windows shattered and the air was filled with the electricity of powerful magic, radiating off Harry. "GET OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! WE'RE THROUGH! FINISHED! YOU CAN TELL THE PAPERS THAT LITTLE STORY! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Cho began to cry as she slowly backed away from Harry. "NOW!!!" She turned around and ran out of the castle.
"Reparo" said a voice behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Lupin standing there fixing the windows that had shattered. Harry sighed and leaned against the banister. "You shouldn't have yelled at her like that, Harry. She didn't do anything wrong."
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He hadn't intended to end things with Cho like that. He was hoping for a more amicable split. But she had pushed all his wrong buttons.
"You also need to exercise a bit more control with your emotions. Now, I hear Hermione is awake. That's good news!"
Harry walked over the wall and leaned back against it. "She's been obliviated. She doesn't remember a thing."
"She must have seen the identity of some Death Eaters, they may have done this to her. Let her flip through the mug shots we have, maybe something will look familiar to her."
"It's not just the incident. She doesn't remember anything about her past. Her life, her family, who she was…even her friends." Harry said sadly.
Lupin frowned and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry Harry. It must be very difficult."
Harry gave him a small smile. "Dumbledore says that she should be able to recover her memory completely with time and a little help."
"Well that's good news then."
"Go ahead and go in and see her. Tell Ron I'll be right back. I'm going to the ministry to see if there's any news, and to pick up those photos."
Lupin nodded and walked into the hospital wing.
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A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed and especially to those who put me on their favorites list!
Michelline: Yes, what is up with Draco? He's having a bit of an internal struggle with himself but we'll learn more about him later.
ReverseVampire: Harry should worry that Draco will tell Hermione things, like the truth. ;)
Next Chapter: Harry loses a battle. Draco returns in a big way. Hermione learns more about her past. And Harry will learn where the expression: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned comes from.
