"Norwegian Wood"
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter 2
Draco looked down at the unconscious form of "Heather Grant" before him. She lay motionless, her head leaning at an uncomfortable angle against the bed frame. She still held her gun in her right hand, which Draco removed immediately and placed in his pocket, along with his wand. 'Damnit!' swore Draco, looking down pityingly at Heather. What was he supposed to do now? Slowly, Draco knelt down beside Heather and lifted her head gently off the bed corner and laid it on the floor. Draco pulled his hand away, and with a jolt realized that there was blood on his fingers. Draco looked once again at the back of Heather's head, seeing that she had a deep gash where the back of her head met her neck. Draco inhaled sharply. "Shit!" Draco swore loudly, standing up and going to the bathroom to wash his hand.
For several minutes, Draco paced back and forth, thinking about what the hell he should do, and occasionally looking down at Heather. After some time, he heard her groan from behind him. He quickly spun around and once again knelt beside her. "Detective Grant?" He asked cautiously.
*************************************************
Hermione's eyes flew open. She looked around slowly, not understanding anything she was seeing. There was someone kneeling beside her, but everything was blurry. She heard the person speak.
"Detective Grant?" It was a male voice, but she had to strain to understand what he was saying. 'Who is Detective Grant? Does he mean me?' she wondered. Hermione thought for a moment before realizing that she hadn't the slightest idea who she was. She began to panic, looking around quickly to see where she was.
Draco saw Heather try to sit up quickly, but she immediately groaned again and lay down. He saw that her eyes were open, but they were glassy, and it seemed as though she wasn't seeing normally. After lying quietly for a moment, he heard her speak so softly that it was almost inaudible.
"Where am I?" Hermione wondered aloud, still not seeing clearly. "Who are you?" She asked, turning her head in the general direction of the person kneeling next to her.
Draco responded carefully. "I'm Dameon Miller. You fell on the stairs down the hall and were knocked unconscious. I brought you to my room to see if you'd wake up." He lied casually, hoping that she would forget everything that had happened in his room before the memory charm. Heather looked confused.
"And..." Hermione knew the question sounded silly, but she couldn't for the life of her remember, "Who am I?"
Draco stared, momentarily numb. This was not good. If Heather Grant had forgotten everything,—who she was, where she was, that she was a detective—Draco could not possibly imagine the disaster....
"You... you're Detective Heather Grant." Draco said, hoping that somehow this would trigger some memories. Of course, the name Heather Grant did not ring any bells with Hermione, who lay motionless on the floor.
Hermione's vision was slowly un-fogging, and she could see things more clearly. There was a young man next to her, looking at her with concern. Ignoring the sharp pain at the back of her neck, Hermione sat up slowly, feeling slightly dizzy.
Draco watched apprehensively as Heather sat up, closing her eyes against the incredible pain she must have been feeling. She looked as though she might faint, and Draco steadied her as she struggled to gain her balance.
After a moment, Hermione opened her eyes again and looked at Dameon, whose hand was helping to steady her. "Thanks." She murmured groggily. Hermione winced as her already bad headache worsened. She slowly reached a hand up to her sore neck, finding a nasty gash towards the back of her head. "Fuck!" She swore as her tender neck stung from her touch.
Draco noticed Heather's discomfort, but didn't see anything he could do to help her without revealing magic once again. "Wait a moment," Draco said, standing and walking to the bathroom, "I think I might have some bandages to stop the bleeding." Draco closed the door as he heard Heather grumble something in response. He quickly pulled out his wand, conjuring several bandages. He then reached under the sink, pulling out a healing potion he had hidden in case of emergencies. Pouring some of the potion on the bandages, he opened the door once again and sat next to Heather, who looked at him anxiously.
Draco sat next to Heather, gently and carefully wrapping the bandage around her neck. At first she gasped at the sting caused by the potion, but soon the pain began to ebb away and her headache stopped being so painful.
Hermione looked over at the man she knew as Dameon. "Thank you. It feels a lot better now." She said when he finished with the bandages. She hesitated for a second before deciding that she should stand. Gathering all of her strength, Hermione used the bed as a support and stood up shakily. Her headache worsened, but only slightly. She turned towards Dameon and smiled. "Thanks for all your help, Mr. Miller. I hope I didn't take up too much of your time. It was very kind of you to take care of me."
Draco saw Heather making for the door, but knew he had to stop her. From what he had heard, she didn't remember a thing about her life. How could he let her leave and wander the streets without any idea of who or where she was? Draco cursed in his head, thinking of how much he had really screwed things up. "Heather, wait. I know that your, er, fall made you forget some things. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Hermione turned at the sound of Dameon's voice. He wondered if she was okay. She asked herself the same question, but didn't like the answer. 'I don't remember anything!' She thought to herself hopelessly. 'What the hell am I going to do now?' Hermione leaned up against the wall, feeling completely lost. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she spoke quietly, "I don't remember...." She felt helpless. "I can't remember anything...."
Draco felt a pang of guilt as he watched Heather realize how helpless she was without her memories. He didn't really understand how she had lost so much of her memory from one charm, but he had a feeling that the spell combined with her head injury caused more damage than might have been expected. Draco knew he had to help her in any way possible. "Heather," he said, "I'll try to help you remember. I'm sure you'll see or hear something that will trigger your memory. But let's go outside for a while, it's stuffy in this old hotel room."
Hermione smiled up at him through her tears. She was so grateful, though she really didn't see how this complete stranger could help her. However, she knew she needed all the help she could get. "Dameon, I really don't know how to thank you...."
Draco shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I can't imagine how odd it must be to lose all your memories in one day." He said as he opened the door and followed her out. Heather looked so appreciative, Draco didn't know if he could bear it. 'If you only remembered how this all happened....' He thought to himself as they headed down the hall.
**************************************************
It was still fairly early in the day when Draco and Hermione decided to walk around for a while. It was a sunny day, and though their situation would not normally be associated with happiness, they were both in good spirits. Hermione was still having a lot of trouble with her memory, but they were both happy when she recognized an old office building fairly close to the Dickensian Inn.
"Do you remember doing anything in or around this building?" Draco asked hopefully as Heather gazed up at the office building before them.
"No, not really...." Said Hermione thoughtfully. "I definitely remember it, though. I don't know why." She looked over at Dameon. "Do you know what kind of offices these are?" she asked.
Draco shrugged. "No idea. Looks like some sort of Police-associated building though. See that plaque over there?" He pointed to a bronze plaque next to the door. "It says 'LPD.' London Police Department."
Hermione stared at the building for a moment before shrugging. "Ah well. Maybe I just passed by it a couple times and that's what I'm remembering."
Draco sighed. "Alright. Let's keep walking then. Maybe you'll see something of more importance later."
The two continued walking around the streets of London until their feet were sore. They decided to take a rest and get some lunch, as it was already a little past noon. There was a small café on the corner and they sat down at a table near the window.
"Dameon, thanks again for helping me with this. I really don't know what would of happened if I didn't have a guide of some sort." Hermione said after they ordered their meals.
Draco smiled. "Don't worry about it, Heather. I told you I didn't have anything else to do. If you don't stop worrying about how you're taking up my time, there won't be any room in your brain for your memories." He said jokingly.
Hermione blushed. "Sorry, I just feel bad about taking up your time."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Do you really? I hadn't noticed." He said sarcastically.
Hermione laughed. "Anyway, just know that I am very grateful." Hermione looked out the large window they were next to. These places all looked familiar, but at the same time she didn't remember ever seeing them before. She sighed to herself. "So...what about you? What do you do? Where do you come from?" Hermione asked as she took a sip of her water.
Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What would he say? He didn't really work...not in the sense Heather meant, anyway. "Well, I, er, I'm in between jobs currently." He said, absentmindedly running his hand through his hair. "And I've lived in London for some time now, but I grew up in the country." He looked up at her and laughed. "I'm afraid I'm not a very interesting person. Anyway, let's think about you. Besides that one Police building, have you recognized anything else?"
Hermione looked across the table at Dameon. He was obviously uncomfortable talking about himself, and Hermione decided not to press him. After all, he was taking an awful lot of time helping her. She let her thoughts drift back to her own problems. "Yes, I...I actually recognize many things, but I don't remember when I've seen them before." She looked down for a moment, thinking. "It's a bit strange, isn't it? You wouldn't think someone could forget so much from a fall on the stairs."
Once again, guilt tugged at Draco's thoughts. This whole mess was his fault. Heather had never done anything to him...she didn't deserve this. Admittedly, she had been pointing a gun at him when he had hit her with the memory charm, but she was merely doing her job. Draco tried to make himself feel better by telling himself that he couldn't have told her about the memory charm, as she was a muggle, but these thoughts didn't help to lessen his guilt. "You took quite a harsh fall." He ended up saying rather weakly.
"I guess so." Hermione's response was followed by a somewhat awkward silence. What was there to say? Two complete strangers, each of them alone in almost every way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter 2
Draco looked down at the unconscious form of "Heather Grant" before him. She lay motionless, her head leaning at an uncomfortable angle against the bed frame. She still held her gun in her right hand, which Draco removed immediately and placed in his pocket, along with his wand. 'Damnit!' swore Draco, looking down pityingly at Heather. What was he supposed to do now? Slowly, Draco knelt down beside Heather and lifted her head gently off the bed corner and laid it on the floor. Draco pulled his hand away, and with a jolt realized that there was blood on his fingers. Draco looked once again at the back of Heather's head, seeing that she had a deep gash where the back of her head met her neck. Draco inhaled sharply. "Shit!" Draco swore loudly, standing up and going to the bathroom to wash his hand.
For several minutes, Draco paced back and forth, thinking about what the hell he should do, and occasionally looking down at Heather. After some time, he heard her groan from behind him. He quickly spun around and once again knelt beside her. "Detective Grant?" He asked cautiously.
*************************************************
Hermione's eyes flew open. She looked around slowly, not understanding anything she was seeing. There was someone kneeling beside her, but everything was blurry. She heard the person speak.
"Detective Grant?" It was a male voice, but she had to strain to understand what he was saying. 'Who is Detective Grant? Does he mean me?' she wondered. Hermione thought for a moment before realizing that she hadn't the slightest idea who she was. She began to panic, looking around quickly to see where she was.
Draco saw Heather try to sit up quickly, but she immediately groaned again and lay down. He saw that her eyes were open, but they were glassy, and it seemed as though she wasn't seeing normally. After lying quietly for a moment, he heard her speak so softly that it was almost inaudible.
"Where am I?" Hermione wondered aloud, still not seeing clearly. "Who are you?" She asked, turning her head in the general direction of the person kneeling next to her.
Draco responded carefully. "I'm Dameon Miller. You fell on the stairs down the hall and were knocked unconscious. I brought you to my room to see if you'd wake up." He lied casually, hoping that she would forget everything that had happened in his room before the memory charm. Heather looked confused.
"And..." Hermione knew the question sounded silly, but she couldn't for the life of her remember, "Who am I?"
Draco stared, momentarily numb. This was not good. If Heather Grant had forgotten everything,—who she was, where she was, that she was a detective—Draco could not possibly imagine the disaster....
"You... you're Detective Heather Grant." Draco said, hoping that somehow this would trigger some memories. Of course, the name Heather Grant did not ring any bells with Hermione, who lay motionless on the floor.
Hermione's vision was slowly un-fogging, and she could see things more clearly. There was a young man next to her, looking at her with concern. Ignoring the sharp pain at the back of her neck, Hermione sat up slowly, feeling slightly dizzy.
Draco watched apprehensively as Heather sat up, closing her eyes against the incredible pain she must have been feeling. She looked as though she might faint, and Draco steadied her as she struggled to gain her balance.
After a moment, Hermione opened her eyes again and looked at Dameon, whose hand was helping to steady her. "Thanks." She murmured groggily. Hermione winced as her already bad headache worsened. She slowly reached a hand up to her sore neck, finding a nasty gash towards the back of her head. "Fuck!" She swore as her tender neck stung from her touch.
Draco noticed Heather's discomfort, but didn't see anything he could do to help her without revealing magic once again. "Wait a moment," Draco said, standing and walking to the bathroom, "I think I might have some bandages to stop the bleeding." Draco closed the door as he heard Heather grumble something in response. He quickly pulled out his wand, conjuring several bandages. He then reached under the sink, pulling out a healing potion he had hidden in case of emergencies. Pouring some of the potion on the bandages, he opened the door once again and sat next to Heather, who looked at him anxiously.
Draco sat next to Heather, gently and carefully wrapping the bandage around her neck. At first she gasped at the sting caused by the potion, but soon the pain began to ebb away and her headache stopped being so painful.
Hermione looked over at the man she knew as Dameon. "Thank you. It feels a lot better now." She said when he finished with the bandages. She hesitated for a second before deciding that she should stand. Gathering all of her strength, Hermione used the bed as a support and stood up shakily. Her headache worsened, but only slightly. She turned towards Dameon and smiled. "Thanks for all your help, Mr. Miller. I hope I didn't take up too much of your time. It was very kind of you to take care of me."
Draco saw Heather making for the door, but knew he had to stop her. From what he had heard, she didn't remember a thing about her life. How could he let her leave and wander the streets without any idea of who or where she was? Draco cursed in his head, thinking of how much he had really screwed things up. "Heather, wait. I know that your, er, fall made you forget some things. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Hermione turned at the sound of Dameon's voice. He wondered if she was okay. She asked herself the same question, but didn't like the answer. 'I don't remember anything!' She thought to herself hopelessly. 'What the hell am I going to do now?' Hermione leaned up against the wall, feeling completely lost. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she spoke quietly, "I don't remember...." She felt helpless. "I can't remember anything...."
Draco felt a pang of guilt as he watched Heather realize how helpless she was without her memories. He didn't really understand how she had lost so much of her memory from one charm, but he had a feeling that the spell combined with her head injury caused more damage than might have been expected. Draco knew he had to help her in any way possible. "Heather," he said, "I'll try to help you remember. I'm sure you'll see or hear something that will trigger your memory. But let's go outside for a while, it's stuffy in this old hotel room."
Hermione smiled up at him through her tears. She was so grateful, though she really didn't see how this complete stranger could help her. However, she knew she needed all the help she could get. "Dameon, I really don't know how to thank you...."
Draco shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I can't imagine how odd it must be to lose all your memories in one day." He said as he opened the door and followed her out. Heather looked so appreciative, Draco didn't know if he could bear it. 'If you only remembered how this all happened....' He thought to himself as they headed down the hall.
**************************************************
It was still fairly early in the day when Draco and Hermione decided to walk around for a while. It was a sunny day, and though their situation would not normally be associated with happiness, they were both in good spirits. Hermione was still having a lot of trouble with her memory, but they were both happy when she recognized an old office building fairly close to the Dickensian Inn.
"Do you remember doing anything in or around this building?" Draco asked hopefully as Heather gazed up at the office building before them.
"No, not really...." Said Hermione thoughtfully. "I definitely remember it, though. I don't know why." She looked over at Dameon. "Do you know what kind of offices these are?" she asked.
Draco shrugged. "No idea. Looks like some sort of Police-associated building though. See that plaque over there?" He pointed to a bronze plaque next to the door. "It says 'LPD.' London Police Department."
Hermione stared at the building for a moment before shrugging. "Ah well. Maybe I just passed by it a couple times and that's what I'm remembering."
Draco sighed. "Alright. Let's keep walking then. Maybe you'll see something of more importance later."
The two continued walking around the streets of London until their feet were sore. They decided to take a rest and get some lunch, as it was already a little past noon. There was a small café on the corner and they sat down at a table near the window.
"Dameon, thanks again for helping me with this. I really don't know what would of happened if I didn't have a guide of some sort." Hermione said after they ordered their meals.
Draco smiled. "Don't worry about it, Heather. I told you I didn't have anything else to do. If you don't stop worrying about how you're taking up my time, there won't be any room in your brain for your memories." He said jokingly.
Hermione blushed. "Sorry, I just feel bad about taking up your time."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Do you really? I hadn't noticed." He said sarcastically.
Hermione laughed. "Anyway, just know that I am very grateful." Hermione looked out the large window they were next to. These places all looked familiar, but at the same time she didn't remember ever seeing them before. She sighed to herself. "So...what about you? What do you do? Where do you come from?" Hermione asked as she took a sip of her water.
Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What would he say? He didn't really work...not in the sense Heather meant, anyway. "Well, I, er, I'm in between jobs currently." He said, absentmindedly running his hand through his hair. "And I've lived in London for some time now, but I grew up in the country." He looked up at her and laughed. "I'm afraid I'm not a very interesting person. Anyway, let's think about you. Besides that one Police building, have you recognized anything else?"
Hermione looked across the table at Dameon. He was obviously uncomfortable talking about himself, and Hermione decided not to press him. After all, he was taking an awful lot of time helping her. She let her thoughts drift back to her own problems. "Yes, I...I actually recognize many things, but I don't remember when I've seen them before." She looked down for a moment, thinking. "It's a bit strange, isn't it? You wouldn't think someone could forget so much from a fall on the stairs."
Once again, guilt tugged at Draco's thoughts. This whole mess was his fault. Heather had never done anything to him...she didn't deserve this. Admittedly, she had been pointing a gun at him when he had hit her with the memory charm, but she was merely doing her job. Draco tried to make himself feel better by telling himself that he couldn't have told her about the memory charm, as she was a muggle, but these thoughts didn't help to lessen his guilt. "You took quite a harsh fall." He ended up saying rather weakly.
"I guess so." Hermione's response was followed by a somewhat awkward silence. What was there to say? Two complete strangers, each of them alone in almost every way.