Disclaimer: ...

Chapter Eleven

Hermione was immediately escorted to Hogwarts by Severus and the old man that had introduced himself as 'Albus Dumbledore, but you can just call me Albus'.

Upon entering Albus's office, Hermione found herself being smothered by two very enthusiastic men.

"Hermione, its so good to see you. We thought you were dead," a tall man with messy black hair was murmuring in her ear as he nearly throttled her.

A moment later, he was pushed out of the way by a redhead that crushed his lips to hers, drawing her close.

Hermione, panicking, began to struggle.

Realising what was happening, Severus stepped forward and pried the man away from Hermione.

Unsure what was happening, and feeling that she was missing something very obvious, Hermione moved towards him.

She was comforted slightly as Severus put a hand on her shoulder, led her to a chair, then sat down beside her.

"Dumbledore," said the black haired newcomer, "what's happening? This isn't Hermione."

"She doesn't know me," whispered the other man, freckles showing up stark against a pale face.

Albus shook his head sadly.

"Let me explain, boys. This is Hermione, but she her memory has been altered and she can't remember her real past."

Albus then turned to Hermione.

"Hermione, this is Harry Potter and Ronald –Ron- Weasley. They are your best friends."

Hermione turned to look at the two boys that gazed sorrowfully back at her.

And she felt nothing.

I don't remember anything. I thought that if I came here, it would all come back, that it would all be fine. What do I do now?

The occupants of the room sat in silence for a moment.

"I think," said Severus after a moment, "that we should start by taking Hermione away from here. When Voldemort finds out that the Malfoys are in Azkaban but Hermione is not, he will know who she is with. He won't stop until he kills her."

"We could hide her in Grimmauld place?" suggested Harry.

"No," said Dumbledore. "I don't think it is a good idea to have Hermione surrounded by all the people she can't remember. Severus, do you know of any way of restoring her memory?"

"Just one, but I takes a while to brew, and she cannot be left alone for that long."

"No," said Hermione, "don't worry about me. Give me the instructions, and I will find somewhere to go. I've already caused enough trouble."

Everyone turned to look at her. Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I very much doubt," he drawled, "that you will be able to brew this potion alone. I will be accompanying you, and we will return to everyone once this has all finished."

The boy introduced as Harry opened his mouth.

"No, Potter, you cannot play the hero and come with us because you are needed elsewhere. Same with you, Weasley," Snape added after a moment.

"Excellent," said Albus cheerfully.

Everyone else in the room glared at him.

Unfazed, he continued. "Severus, you can go and pack some of your things. I am sure that Minerva –your old head of house, Hermione- can take care of some things for you. I will just go and make sure that the place I have been thinking of is ready for its inhabitants."

Everybody looked at the old man in shock.

"I assume that this means I forgot to tell you all about the hideaway I made in the Italian mountains in case of dire emergencies?" asked the old man.

There was a silence.

"It appears so. Well, you all know now!" he said cheerfully, then walked out of the room, followed by Severus.

There was yet another pause.

Harry stood up. "Well," he said briskly, "we all know what to do. Even if," he smiled wryly, "that happens to be nothing in some cases."

Ron shook his head. "Hermione. I know you don't remember me now, but I just want to say how happy I am to have you back. When this is all over..."

"Ron, leave her alone. That can be sorted out afterwards."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask what exactly he was planning on doing to her when it was all over, but was interrupted the re-entry of Severus and Albus.

"Are you done?" asked Harry.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow, and pulled a minute suitcase out of his pocket.

"How did you do it all so quickly?" asked Ron in confusion.

"You'll never guess, Weasley." drawled Severus. "Its magic!"

Ron scowled.

Hermione moved towards Severus, and they grasped the portkey that Albus had given him together. They counted down from ten until the felt the jerk that told them they were on their way to Italy.

Severus joined Hermione outside the small but very comfortable house that Dumbledore had provided sent them to. They stood looking down at the snow covered slopes in silence for a minute.

"Severus," said Hermione finally, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I don't-"

"It wasn't. When this is all over, you will be back to the good natured, self-sacrificing Miss Granger you always were."

Hermione froze.

"Miss Granger? Does that mean that I need to call you Professor Snape or something?" she asked, frowning.

Severus turned to look at her.

"When this is all over, you are going to hate me. You always hated me, it could never have been different," he said softly, his face unreadable.

He turned and made to walk back into the house. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, the man stopped and turned to face Hermione.

"Severus," she said, feeling him shiver when she said his name, "do you hate me?"

"No," he cried, "of course not."

"After all of this, I could never hate you," she said simply and pulled his lips down to hers.

This kiss was nothing like their last.

While there was nothing that Severus had not enjoyed about that one, there was something about the way that they took their time to explore each other that felt somehow more right.

It was only too soon that Hermione pulled away. "I don't care what you did in the past," she whispered, "if you will have me after all I have done..."

Severus chuckled at these words. "If I will have you? Just try to stop me." Then he lowered his lips to hers again and nothing more was said.

For the next few weeks, Hermione and Severus worked side by side on the potion, each relishing the company of the other.

Knowing that her mind would be filled with memories of the Severus that she had hated in the past, Hermione had resolved to learn everything that she possibly could about the man that was so frightened of losing her.

Thanks to this, much of their time was spent discussing every part of the man's life, and the small number of facts that he could tell her about her own.

Too soon for both, the potion was finished.

Hermione was sitting in one of the armchairs with Severus, her legs slung across his, looking down into the murky cup that was the result of their hard work.

"I don't know if I want to drink this."

Severus raised a questioning eyebrow.

"If I drink this and remember everything, then we need to leave this place. I don't know if I want to go back to everything that I left. If we could stay here forever..."

"Hermione, you know it can't happen. We may as well get this over with now."

She nodded slowly, raised the glass in a mock toast, then drank it in one gulp.

Severus quickly caught Hermione's head as it fell back limply. He frowned as her eyelids flickered, her body shaking violently as years worth of memories all flooded into itat once.

And then it was all over. Hermione sat up again and opened her eyes.

She looked up at him, her face and mouth working soundlessly.

"Hermione?" he asked gently, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

For a moment, she said nothing, her eyes filling with tears.

And then she said what Severus decided must have been the least welcome word in the world.

"Ron!"

Er, not much to say on this chapter. Thought I should mention that I am starting a new fic, but it is NOT going to interfere with my updates of this one!

Thanks to all my yummy reviewers! Hugs to StarsLuver, Greeknelo, foxxy-posse (I'm not that good- but thanks anyway!), stargazer starluver (I'll try!), Sanaria, sophianwin, Kathryn Black, Natsuyori, June, Jessica, lestrange24, Kail Ceannai (because she didn't think she would be accepted. And, uh, it makes better plot, lol!), Lover not a fighter (thanks!), Christianne-Anna (yayayayayayayayayayay. lol!) and Squashes (great analogy. Uh. Oooh, its Jeeves. Ahem. A little coke high here)

More reviews means faster updates!