A month went by and the trio was getting nowhere as to why discovering Harry had lost his memory. To tell the truth they had given up hope and had focused more on telling Harry about his past. Christine was glad that they abandoned their search; it certainly made her job easier. But Hermione was so busy planning her wedding that she seemed to be spending less and less time with Harry and Christine.
And then there was Ginny. For some reason Christine was repulsed by her. It could have been the fact that Ginny was trying her best to try and get Harry's memory back so that they could pick up where they left off. Christine worked very hard to hold back the notion to tell Ginny she was wasting her time and that Harry could be interested in other women. But of course she wasn't even sure that Harry liked her in return so she said nothing.
The prospect of revenge is the only thing that was keeping Christine from losing her mind. She was tired of Hermione bugging her about which place settings she should and other pointless stuff like that. In if that wasn't enough Hermione asked Christine to be one of her bride's maids. For a moment Christine had thought the stress of the wedding was really getting to Hermione but she decided to agree just to keep and suspicions down.
As the days wore on it was obvious that Christine was dealing a great about of strain. She was not only trying to make Hermione think nothing was wrong but she was busy doing work for Severus that often required late nights and long trips overseas. Christine let everyone think she was doing something for her job but they had no idea what was going to be in store for them.
But Harry was the only one who sensed that something was wrong. But whenever he tried to ask her about it she would always change the subject. She didn't want him to suspect that anything weird was going on. But he was more concerned with her health and well being.
"Christine, you seem stressed lately." Harry said to Christine one afternoon as they were eating lunch. She avoided his gaze as she looked at her food and picked at it subconsciously. "You look very pale and gaunt. Your eyes are red and you have bags under them. Are you sure something isn't wrong?"
"Just a lot of things to do at work, Harry."
"Well maybe you need a vacation. Take a trip somewhere. You need to relax Christine."
"I'll be fine Harry. You'll see."
"Fine. Whatever you say." He said to her unconvincingly.
"Well I should be going back to my hotel. I need to be packing."
"Packing?"
"Yeah, I'm going home." Harry looked confused and somewhat hurt. He was upset that Christine hadn't mentioned this before.
"But what about Hermione's wedding?" It was the first thing that came to his mind.
"Well I'll fly back for it. I just need to do some things at home. Don't worry about it Harry." She always found it hard to call him Harry. Inside she felt as if he was still Damien, the boy he found washed up on the beach so long ago. "I'll be fine Harry. I'll see you soon." She said kissing him on the cheek. "You should go back inside Harry, they'll be waiting for you."
Christine walked off without saying another word to Harry. She reached her hotel and immediately starting packing. She was really going home for a break. It took so much courage for her put up with Hermione for so long and she needed to distance herself from her cousin before she did something rash. But remember, she basing her hatred on a false memory. And the hidden truth lingers about.
Once her bags were packed Christine headed out of the hotel room and gave her key to the man at the front desk. She was in a way glad to be leaving London. It would give her a chance to clear her head. Christine loaded her bags onto the subway as she rode over to London Heathrow Airport.
The whole time she was thinking about what she was going to have to do when she came back here. Ruin a wedding, commit a murder, and win the guy's heart was all on the to do list. Her mind was filled with doubts of whether this was the right thing to do. Of course every time a doubt came into her head she had to re-live that terrible day when she found out her parents were dead.
Christine went through a daze the entire seven hour flight and the ride home. She wasn't really thinking about anything. All she wanted to do was pretend like this whole thing had never happened. She wanted to pretend that she had never met Damien, that she never learned that Hermione had a hand in her parents' murder, and that she had never made that deal with Severus Snape.
When Christine got home she was greeted by an empty house, something she found to be strange. Her parents should have been home at this time of night. And there was a cold feeling that ran through the house that sent a chill down Christine's spine. She walked up the stairs to her room to put down her suitcases. She then walked out to her balcony to watch the sunset.
As Christine watched the sun set in the west and the clouds turn from yellow, to pink, to red, to orange she became lost in thought. For some reason her mind went back to the same night that she found out her parents were murdered. It was like a film reel went off in the back of her mind. It kept playing the scene where the ministry workers told her what Hermione had done. It was as if the film reel was stuck for the scene kept playing over and over again. Christine just sat on the chair looking out at the ocean as the tears fell from her eyes.
Christine could see a younger version of herself walking down the street to her house. Christine could feel the strange coldness in the air as she did that same night several years ago. She knew was going to happen but the younger Christine still continued to walk home after returning from the store. And the older Christine shivered as she remembered the bright green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth that lingered above her house. She remembered how panicked she was when she could not reach her parents. She remembered being taken away by the ministry worker.
Christine saw her younger self walking into the lobby with the marble floor. She remembered seeing the statue and the man with the lion like appearance. And they started talking to one another, just as if Christine was not there. The memory was like knife in the side every time she saw it but there was now escaping from it now.
"Rufus, another muggle killing, a man and wife by the name of Alice and Steve Granger. I brought their daughter."
But Christine just as Christine was expecting to hear the lion faced man to say that Hermione must have had a hand in it he said something different. It was as if this part of the film had been hidden for some time because it was aged and fuzzy.
"Severus Snape must have had a hand in this." He paused for a moment. Christine thought that she might have heard wrong. It was Hermione, not Severus that killed her parents. Why did he say Severus? "That is the cousin of Miss Hermione Granger, friend of Harry Potter?"
"Yes sir." The other man replied. Christine wondered why she never saw this part of the memory before.
"Well Miss Granger will be greatly upset over the killing of her aunt and uncle."
"Were will we put the daughter?"
"Far from Hermione, they might be prone to come after her if Christine is too close to Hermione. I am going to send this girl to a friend in America, she will hopefully be safe there."
And suddenly Christine was forced back into reality when she heard the door creek open. But it was a slow creaking noise as if those coming in the house did not want to be heard. There were hushed voices, which was odd because her parents were quite chatty. Christine had a funny feeling about whoever was trying to come into her house. So she headed down the stairs that led to the beach.
So Christine then ran over to the neighbor's house and went underneath their porch, which was impossible to see from the balcony of her house. She then carefully worked her way so that unless they came under the porch, it would be impossible to see her. She could not see the house from where she was hiding however and so she had no idea when to go back. Christine watched the sun go over the ocean and decided it was best to remain where she was during the night.
Christine had fallen asleep where she was hiding underneath the porch. The bright sunlight shone brightly and woke Christine up the next morning. She listened to see if anyone was coming but heard only the crashing of the waves. So carefully she came out of her clever hiding spot to see a terrifying sight on top of her house. It was the same dark mark that lingered over her house that day her parents were killed.
Not knowing what to do Christine decided to run for it. Someone had to be after her and she knew that she was not safe. She started running down the street and bumped right into a strange looking man with black robes. He had a serious look on his face as he stared at Christine. He then grabbed her arm tightly and they were gone in a flash.
They reappeared in the familiar lobby with the marble floors. Christine's face was pale white with terror as she saw the statue with the wizard, witch, and the three creatures. Christine tried to speak but she was incapable of forming any words or sentences. Her mouth hung slightly open as she stared at the man, her eyes begging him for answers to what had just happened. But he said nothing. Why would he say nothing? Christine needed to know what was going on.
"You're in deep trouble. Someone is trying to kill you." He said after the long silence.
"What?"
"We got a lead about a Severus Snape coming after you?"
"But…" Christine did not mention how she was supposed to be on good terms with that man. But this confused her even more for he was supposed to help her get revenge on Hermione. Something was not right with this picture. "Why would he be after me?" That was the only question she could think of to ask.
"We don't know yet. But your cousin's fiancée, Ronald Weasley, was kidnapped yesterday morning. We think the crimes are related. You need to stay here for your safety." Before Christine say a word of protest he was gone in flash. Christine felt cold as she stood in the lobby alone. Then another man came in and led her to the elevator. She felt dizzy, as if she was going to pass out.
She could barely remember what happened next but that she somehow ended up in a strange room. There was a couch that she was told to lie down on. Some man handed her a bottle to drink, he mentioned something about calming down. But Christine took it and drank it, hoping that whatever was in it would make the headache go away. A million different thoughts were bouncing around in Christine's head.
Hermione is up to her old ticks again. She just can't stand to see me happy. I'll get Hermione for this. I swear I will. But why would Severus be trying to kill me. He is supposed to be my friend? Severus promised me he would help me. He can't be after me. He promised me. I gave him information. I gave him so much and he treats me like this. If Severus won't help then I will get Hermione myself. Yeah I will get her myself. But Severus has to be helping because kidnapping Ron was part of the plan. It was part of the plan. It was part of the plan.
Christine kept whispering something that sounded like part of the plan. There was no one in the room but she started to fade in and out of reality. She could see herself back in the marble floor lobby with the lion face man, he was telling her that Hermione killed her parents but then in a flash he was telling her it was Severus Snape that did. As Christine continued to get more and more confused she started sweating and swearing. Then she passed out on the floor.
