5

A/N: I know, I know: short chapters and long wait. I'm sorry, I'm just busy and unmotivated… I'll try to write faster, I promise. Thank you reviewers, though I'd like to see some more reviews…hint hint.

-

Chapter Forty-Three

-

In a way, it was lucky that Pepper had amnesia. At the end of February, Piper, Phoebe and Paige wore black for days to mourn the year anniversary of their sister's death and Pepper took no notice of it.

She began attending classes again to jog her memory, though that didn't work so Harry, Ron and Hermione had to tutor her in their free time so it would appear that she was the normal Pepper. Pepper was beginning to grow very frustrated with not remembering anything. She was staying in the girls' dormitory now, instead of with her aunts, and the other two girls (Lavender and Parvati, she learned) kept telling her things that she didn't quite understand.

"So you're done with Harry, then, are you?" Lavender said one day.

Pepper tried not to look confused. Usually she had Hermione around to step in in situations like this, but Hermione was taking a shower at the moment, so Pepper was on her own.

"Erm…" Pepper said, pulling her shirt over her head to change into her nightgown.

"Because I haven't seen you two snogging or anything lately, so I take it you aren't together anymore," Lavender continued, folding her school skirt and laying it on her trunk.

"So are you still together?" Parvati asked, rounding on Pepper.

"Erm…" Pepper said again. "No," she decided on saying, hoping it was true. Harry hadn't mentioned anything to her about them dating…so she guessed that they were just friends. Though, from what Lavender was saying, it sounded as if she and Harry had been dating at one point.

From that day on Pepper tried to steer clear of a situation where she would be alone with Lavender and Parvati.

Pepper also missed Ron's birthday. She was at the small party Hermione and Harry threw for him but she didn't remember that she had a gift for him in her trunk. By this time, everyone was getting fed-up with the amnesia. Piper, Paige and Phoebe were still living at Hogwarts and they still had to stay in their room most of the time. Leo, after taking Pepper to the Manor the day she woke up, didn't interfere much. His main job was to look after Cole, who was still living at the Manor.

"Pepper, Hogsmede is this weekend, would you like to go?" Hermione asked, putting her book down on the table. She made a note on her parchment before looking up at Pepper.

"Sure," Pepper replied, sucking on the end of her quill. "Hermione…I can't remember anything about this…" She shut her eyes tightly, clenching her teeth. Not being able to remember anything was making her very mad, and she knew people were beginning to notice her ignorance.

"Hey Granger," Alana said, coming over to Pepper and Hermione's table and plopping herself in one of the library chairs. Blaise took the seat between Pepper and Alana. They both had their bags with them to do their homework.

"Stoke," Hermione acknowledged, turning back to her book.

Pepper knew that Hermione only tolerated Alana and Blaise hanging around because Pepper had woken up to their faces and found she enjoyed their company.

"How're you doing Halliwell?" Blaise asked. Pepper could tell that he didn't enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his and he only spent time with her because of Alana. He still refused to call her by her first name, though Alana nagged him about it frequently.

"I'm all right," Pepper said, tapping the side of her quill on the table. "Although, I'm having a little trouble with this homework. I can't remember a thing about this…"

"You're asking me to help you then, are you?" Blaise said, realizing that Hermione and Alana were already wrapped up in their homework. (The one condition Hermione had about hanging out with Blaise and Alana had been that they actually did their work when they were in the library.) Blaise glanced over at the Potions essay Pepper was working on. "As a matter of fact, I've got to do that essay as well," he said, pulling out a quill and a roll of parchment from his bag.

"So, are you going to Hogsmede this weekend?" Pepper asked as Blaise pointed something out to her in her book to help her. Even though he had learned that he was a Slytherin, and therefore not her friend, she still couldn't help thinking that his was the best looking face she had ever seen. Hermione had filled her in on the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry but Alana and Blaise were still two of her favorite people. She found she was spending more time with the two of them then with Harry and Ron, but Ron and Hermione seemed to be very chummy.

"Yea, Alana and I're going," he replied, brushing a piece of hair from his face.

"Okay, so what do I have to do here…" Pepper wondered, and the two of them got down to doing their essays.

"We're going to have to do something more extreme," Ron said to Harry, moving his pawn forward two spaces. "She still hasn't remembered a thing, even after everything we've done."

"Madam Pomfrey said she may never get her memory back…" said Harry, hoping desperately that that wouldn't be so.

"It's only been two and a half weeks, I'm sure she'll get better," Hermione insisted, closing her novel.

"Has she worked out her powers yet?" Ron wondered.

"I don't think so; her aunts decided to let her figure them out totally on her own. So far she accidentally froze me once, but that's all," Hermione said.

"Where is Pepper anyway?" Harry asked.

"With Stoke and Zabini," Ron supplied. It was obvious he didn't approve of Pepper's new Slytherin friends. "I just wish she'd get her memory back already so she'd remember that she hates Slytherins."

"Well we might have to be patient," Hermione said. "Though, I feel as if we've been patient enough…it's been over a month since we've had the real Pepper."

"At least she hasn't been hanging around Malfoy," said Harry. "We have to find a way to get her memory back."

"And we can try it on Saturday."

"This place looks familiar," Pepper said, walking down the High Street of Hogsmede with Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"It should," Hermione said. The four of them stopped in the road. "Okay…so I need to get some more parchment and a few more potions supplies…"

"Why don't you and Ron do that," Harry said. "I've got somewhere to take Pepper. We'll meet at the Three Broomsticks in thirty minutes." And with that, Harry grabbed Pepper's arm and pulled her down the street.

"Where are we going?" Pepper asked.

"You'll see. It's only a five minute walk…"

And, sure enough, a few minutes later they arrived at a fence which blocked them from a run-down house set on a hill at least a hundred yards away. "Where—" Pepper began, but never got to finish her question.

Harry had cut her off by pressing his mouth to hers in desperation. His plan was to remind her of the kiss they had shared here, at the Shrieking Shack, a few months ago. There seemed to be extra energy between them when they had come here before and he hoped it might help get her memory back.

Pepper was caught so off guard by the kiss that it took her a moment to react, and to push Harry away. "Harry!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"Pepper, please, just trust me. I have an idea, and it may be crazy, but I just need you to kiss me."

Hesitantly, Pepper leaned forward. Once again, Harry put his lips to hers and this time she kissed back. His hands went to her waist after a few seconds and her arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

Suddenly, and all at once, a million pictures came flooding into Pepper's mind. She broke away from Harry with a cry of alarm. She couldn't see—the pictures were flashing in front of her eyelids. She stumbled backwards.

"Pepper?" said Harry worriedly.

The pictures kept coming. A large white marble building, towering over her head…Blood gushing down her arms…A boy with white-blonde hair, leaning his face to hers…Blue-white lights disappearing into the air…Three dark-haired women, scolding her…One of those women in a white dress, a smiling man waiting for her at an alter…Flying through the air, grass feet below her, holding on to someone in front of her…a brown-haired, red lipped women entering a room with suitcases…A cauldron full of a bubbling potion…A bushy haired girl scowling at her, a redhead standing protectively by her side…Sitting in the lap of a boy with glasses and black hair…A mermaid in a bathtub, hurling things at a dark looking man…Waking up to the blonde boy's face…

The pictures were going by too fast, and now sound filled her head. Pepper cried out again at the sudden burst of noise. "It's none of your FUCKING business what family of from! So what if you haven't heard of the Halliwells! Maybe that's my MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME!"…"She…Prue's…dead..."… "But Harry, we're soul mates!"…"Watch what you say, Halliwell. Someone just might believe that I do want to fuck you."…"Hermione, you wouldn't believe this, Pepper thinks Malfoy's good looking."…" Freeze it! Or blow it up! Or at least do something! We don't have much time! Where's Aunt Phoebe with the Book?"..."She's degraded you!" "DEGRADED ME? You really think that little of me, Ronald!"…"You know what this means, Harry? We could bring my dad back to life for three days."… "Sounds dangerous." "No duh. The question is, do you still want to do it?"…" Oh, you're back. I guess that means we won't be having any more fun then, Harry?"…"But we don't need to show our faces, since you already know who I am, right Halliwell?"…"I cut myself, Hermione."… "PEPPER! WATCH OUT!"…"I have JEWELS!"…"Demons?" "Yes, demons."…

Then another picture, black and white this time, appeared before her eyelids. It was of her, standing there, looking dumbstruck. "Damn it Pepper! I want you and I can't wait for you to sort out your feelings anymore!" The picture flashed out of her head before she could see the speaker. Then the consecutive pictures started up again, as did the voices.

"Running away like that TWICE! We were so worried!"…"Move out of the bloody way or I swear I will hex you into tiny little pieces."…"He fucked you, didn't he?"…"Pepper, I had a wonderful time with Neville."…"Wendigo, Grimlock, Drazi, Abraxas, Troxa, Dane…Can you tell me what those are the names of?" "Demons."… "Ah…hello, erm, Uncle Cole…"…"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"…"So Voldemort and the Source are working TOGETHER?"

Everything stopped and Pepper was once again aware of her surroundings. She opened her eyes, gasping for breath, and found that she was sitting on the ground. Harry was leaning down in front of her, looking very concerned. She looked past his shoulder. The Shrieking Shack…

Without warning, she leaned forward and planted a kiss right on Harry's lips. Before he could respond, she pulled away. Then she embraced him, knocking him from his squatting position, and she started to laugh.

"Pepper…" Harry sounded as if he was really worried now.

"Thank you Harry!" she exclaimed, standing up, beaming. "Oh my god!" She lifted her hands to the sky and spun around. "Harry! I can REMEMBER! Everything! It all came back to me!"

Harry stood up as well, laughing now, and the two of them hurried off to the Three Broomsticks to share the great news with Ron and Hermione.

"Stoke! Zabini! Get your fat arses off each other and over here!" Pepper shouted, running out of the Three Broomsticks and down the street to Alana and Blaise. Blaise had Alana crushed up against the wall of a shop, snogging the life out of her.

"Stop the snogging and listen to me!" Pepper cried, running down the road and waving her arms. Everyone stared at her like she was mad, but she didn't really notice. Alana and Blaise finally turned to look at Pepper, and they looked rather disheveled.

Pepper reached them and stopped, panting and waiting people to go back to their own business before she embraced the two Slytherins.

"Halliwell!...what the…hell…" Blaise wriggled out of her grasp. The only two reasons he hung out with her were Alana and the fact that she had stayed but his bedside when he'd been in a coma, so public displays of affection were too much.

"I've got my memory back!" said Pepper, ignoring Blaise.

"What? How?" Alana said, clearly delighted.

"Harry," replied Pepper. "We've all got a table in the Three Broomsticks, would you like to join us? I can explain everything there."

Alana and Blaise looked at one another, each of them raising an eyebrow in skepticism. "That wouldn't look too great, Halliwell: two Slytherins with a hoard of Gryffindors, looking like friends," said Alana.

"But we are friends," Pepper said, a little downtrodden.

"With you, maybe, but I know Granger can't stand us and, frankly, I can't stand her. Or any of the other Gryffindors," Alana pointed out.

"Oh…well…I'll see you later then," Pepper said drearily, turning back around to head up the street.