Bill let Fleur plan and execute his birthday plans and tried to enjoy it. He found himself wondering about where her mind had drifted to when he confronted her about how she felt. He had noticed she had not been focused as she used to be. But he thought better of bringing it back up because he imagined maybe she had changed after all, because he had fucked up. She was allowed to change.
When the first snow had drifted down, Bill had noticed Fleur's mood considerably improved. Almost like she had never known about Hermione. She sometimes looked at him curiously. He never brought Hermione up to her again.
He visited the local bookstore to buy a Christmas present for Hermione. This was the one contact they had, their little book exchange. He was okay with that.
Fleur was writing her annual "Happy Christmas" cards for the Weasleys Christmas gathering. She had started writing "Hermione" on one and stopped midway, blotting the base of the M. She erased it with a flick of her wand and started over, finishing the 'e' with a big loop.
She was confused that she felt strange when she saw the name glistening back up at her in the gold ink.
Bill and Fleur took the floo network to the Burrow to carry over all the presents and Christmas cards with them.
Molly greeted them with a warm hug and pushed scones and tea onto their laps. Bill looked around for his brothers. Charlie was there and grasped his hand jovially. Everyone else was late. Ron came bouncing down the stairs and walked straight into Bill.
"Shit, Bill! Sorry mate." Ron said with a laugh. He hugged him with a lopsided grin. "Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas, bro." Bill said. He wondered about Hermione for a moment, if she was coming, and then sunk back into the chair next to Fleur.
Soon everyone was arriving and by dinner time, there was loud chatter and A Cauldron Full of Love wailing away. Everyone gathered at the table and Bill noticed an empty chair. Molly did too.
"Oh dear. Hermione did say she was coming." Molly said looking at it sadly. Then she looked sternly at Ron. "Ron, you did invite her didn't you?"
"Yes, mum!" Ron said, his mouth half stuffed with mashed potatoes. There was a loud crack outside. "That must be her!"
"Hi, everyone! Happy Christmas!" Hermione said as she peeled away her coat and beamed at everyone. They called it back to her in chorus.
Hermione glanced around and met Bill's eyes for a brief second.
"'Ermione, there's a chair over zere!" Fleur said cheerfully, while she magicked food onto Hermione's plate. Hermione froze for a moment and glanced at Bill in confusion. He shrugged.
"Thanks!" Hermione said. Bill kept his eyes from lingering over to her as much as he could for the rest of the night. But he noticed somehow that Ron was more vocal with Fleur without the assistance of alcohol where otherwise he usually stared and more tight-lipped. And that Fleur was also all-round very cheery toward Hermione. Like nothing had happened. He frowned.
The fireworks for the new year lit up the sky outside his office window. Fleur was curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace. He tucked her under the blanket. Next to her on the tea-table was her planner perched precariously on the coffee table.
He saw in the powder blue book that a page of some sort was sticking out. It had a gold border that caught the firelight. He picked it up in his hands and opened the book. It was a call card tucked between the pages.
"Forget About It" it read. The slogan under it said, "Heal your mind by forgetting the pain."
"Oh." Bill said under his breath. He flipped the card over, on it was an address. He closed Fleur's book and took the card back to his desk.
When Fleur left the next morning to shop with her sister who was visiting, Bill took the card and stepped into the fireplace. With a green flash and fire licking his ears, he appeared in what looked like a Healer's Office.
"Welcome." said a gentle witch. She smiled at him encouragingly. "How can I help you today?"
"I-" Bill looked around at the half-empty waiting room. "I don't know."
"Do you have an appointment, or would you like to make one?" she asked, her voice kind.
"I found the card. I don't know how this works." Bill said, holding out the card toward her.
"Oh! Sure thing, dear." She said smiling widely. "You tell us what memory you need erased and we get rid of it for you."
"How is this a thing?" Bill asked, looking around at everything.
"Post-war, dear. Everyone needed to heal, this was an easy fix for some." The witch said happily. "Now we do less post-war trauma, more trivial things. People want to forget, you know?"
"Yea." Bill said absentmindedly. "But what happens to those that didn't really want to forget?"
"Oh, no worries, dear. We have things in place to return the memories to you if you ever remember to come back here and ask!" the witch laughed. "We also have the option to wipe this place out of your memory too! So you won't remember to come back here, that is."
"Ah. I see." Bill said. He was bending the card in his hand now. He frowned in thought. "Is there any time for me today?"
"Today?" the witch said startled. She looked at the appointment book in front of her. "Oh! You're in luck, there's a slot at 2:30. Come back around then, dear. We'll sort you right out."
"2:30." he said with a nod and disappeared again into the green flames.
Fleur had not returned by the time he left, so he wrote a note about visiting his brothers at Diagon Alley and returned to Forget About It. The nurse smiled when she recognised him from earlier in the day and gestured to him.
"Yes, dear, there's some things you have to sign before we go forward with this." she said, sliding some parchment toward him. "Take a look-see, read through it, and make sure you're alright with it. Select what you'd prefer and whatnot."
Bill smiled at her and sat with the parchment on his lap. He selected that he didn't want to remember coming here. He had hovered over it for a bit, but settled on forgetting completely. He didn't want to think of Hermione, comparing her to Fleur.
When the Healer called his name, he closed the door behind him and took a seat in a lone chair in the center of the room. The Healer was a big man, with a belly that stretched his shirt to the limit. His face was of a blissfully happy man. Bill wondered how many procedures he had done on himself.
"You paid the witch outside?" the Healer said beaming up at Bill from over his piece of parchment that Bill gave to him.
"Yes." Bill said. He looked around, everything in the room seemed to be soft colours. Comfort.
"Alright then, let's get started. I see it's a person you want erased. For a period of time. Shouldn't be too tricky." He stood before Bill. "Are you ready, boy?"
"Yes." Bill said, and looked straight at the wand that pointed at his forehead, then closed his eyes.
