"Dragon! Dragon no, I don't want to fly!"
"Come on Cassie, hold on to me I've got you."
"Draco! No, let me down!"
"Mother? Mother, do I have to go to the ball? They're boring!"
"Yes, my Star, you do. You'll have fun once you're there. The Parkinson's always have that cake you're so fond of."
"They better have lots of it."
"Father! Put me down!"
"Not a chance, Princess! I am the brave knight, I've saved you from the evil dragon!"
"You're so silly, Daddy! My Dragon isn't evil!"
"Grandmere? Do I really need to know this? Father says girls don't fight."
"Girls should be able to defend themselves, cherie. Do you truly want to wait on Draco to rescue you?"
"No Grandmere, let's try it again."
"Shhh Princess. Your Mother will hex me if she catches us!"
"Won't the elves tell her, Daddy?"
"Not if we're quiet. We'll only take a couple."
"Can we eat them in the library?"
"Of course Princess, where else does one eat cookies at midnight?"
She opened her eyes slowly, her head throbbing. The lack of light indicated that it was much later than it had been.
"Theo?" she croaked, trying to sit up.
"Oh thank the Gods." Her husband's pale face came into view, peering at her with concern. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"
"Like I've been run over by the knight bus. What happened?"
"They broke the glamour and you screamed like you'd been hit by a crucio. You've been unconscious for the last couple of days."
"Days?" she asked, horrified.
"Yes, sweetheart. Days. You gave us all quite a scare. I'm going to get Andromeda, she's been beside herself. Narcissa and Draco are here too, I sent them to get tea with Harry and Pansy not long ago."
"You sent my mother and Draco to get tea with Harry and Pansy?"
"Yes. I figured they needed a break from the waiting room and could do with something to do with their hands. Draco and Harry have been surprisingly civil. Ginny's been here, but the pregnancy is rough, so she's been going home to sleep. We decided it best if Ron didn't come just now, Pansy's been here more often than not, Violet has been a good distraction for Narcissa."
She nodded before she said softly "I remember, Theo."
He looked at her sharply, "You remember what?"
"Before. I don't remember who took me, but I remember before."
"Oh. Oh Hermione, sweetheart, are you alright?"
She wasn't sure when she had started crying, but was grateful nonetheless when Theo sat down on the bed and pulled her to him. The emotions she now felt were overwhelming, old feelings warring with new ones as she tried to combine the first eight years of her life with the rest of it. "Yes. No. I….I don't know. I… Theo, I want to see my father."
He gripped her tightly. "Are you sure, sweetheart?"
"Yes. I remember how he was….before. I….I don't really know how to combine that man with my memories of Lucius Malfoy the Death Eater."
"You don't need to do it right now, sweetheart. Can we get you home before you start reuniting with problematic family members?"
She gave a slightly weak laugh that ended with a sob. "Yes."
Theo pulled her closer, rocking her slightly as he waited out the sobs, grateful beyond measure that she was awake. Hearing her scream before she had lost consciousness would haunt him until the day he died. He had never felt so damn helpless.
"Theo? What do I look like?"
"You, sweetheart, you look like you." he replied, handing her a mirror.
She took in the changes, Malfoy blonde in place of her brown, grey eyes, slightly more defined cheekbones. She was still recognisable as herself though, and for that she was grateful. Glancing down, she realised that her body had barely changed, which she supposed made sense. The changes in her hair and eye colour would have ensured no one paid much attention to anything else, making further changes a waste of time.
She noticed Theo's worried eyes watching her, and sighed.
"I'm ok. The colour changes will take a bit of getting used to but that's all that's really changed."
He nodded, exhaling slowly, allowing his worry to settle, knowing he should probably go and get Andromeda now but not willing to let her go just yet.
The door opened, and Ginny edged in, her eyes going wide with relief when she noticed Hermione was awake.
"Oh thank Merlin, Hermione! How are you feeling?"
"Sore." she said honestly. "Any chance you could chase up a healer? I'd kill for a pain potion."
"Of course, does Andy know?"
Theo shook his head, "Not yet, I was going to get her in a minute."
"I'll go. You stay with Mione. I'm sure she'll chase up a pain potion. Where is everyone else?"
"I sent them for tea."
"All of them?" she asked hesitantly
"All of them." he confirmed with a smirk. "Don't look so worried, we'd have heard if they'd blown up the tea room."
Andromeda came rushing into the room moments after Ginny had left to find her, Ginny on her heels.
"Hermione!" she exclaimed, pulling her from Theo, cupping her face in her hands, eyes scanning her face frantically. "Thank the gods. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine Aunt Andy, breathe! Although if you happen to have a pain potion, I wont say no."
"Why? What hurts?" Andromeda asked sharply.
"My head."
Andromeda nodded, handing her back to Theo gently and walking out the room.
She returned with the requested potion.
"Can I run some diagnostics?"
Hermione nodded, moving away from Theo to allow her Aunt to work.
"Your results look fine. Do you know what happened?"
"It hurt, I assume, when the glamour broke. I….I remember what things were like before. I had memories of playing with Draco, arguing with Mother about going to a ball and stealing biscuits from the elves with Father in the middle of the night."
"Do you remember anything else?" her Aunt asked sharply.
Shaking her head she replied. "No. nothing."
"We'll get the mind Healers down tomorrow then if you agree? Given that your memories appear to have been linked to the glamour, I wonder if a separate memory charm was cast to prevent you learning your abductor's identity. I'm sure everyone will want to see you but I'm going to insist on it only being for a few minutes. You need to sleep. Theo can stay, but now you're awake, I'm sending everyone else home."
She nodded, settling herself back on the bed, feeling tiredness start to hit "Thanks Aunt Andy."
Narcissa chose that moment to creep into the room, her eyes focused on Theo.
"Any news?"
Theo smiled as Narcissa reached the bed. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"What?" Her eyes traveled to her daughter who smiled at her slightly.
"Hello, Mother."
"Oh! Oh, my Star!"
Narcissa launched herself at her daughter, twisting slightly to avoid her bump as she sobbed into her hair.
Draco appeared seconds later as he took in his sobbing mother clutching his sister to her, his heart stilled.
"Theo? What happened?" he asked frantically.
"She's awake, mate. Most of her memories were restored."
Draco felt his knees give out as someone grasped him under the arm, only just preventing him hitting the ground. She remembered. His Cassie, she remembered.
"Let's get you to a chair, Malfoy" he heard Potter murmur as he registered someone other than his mother sobbing.
He missed Ginny Potter throw both Theo and Harry an exasperated look, both of them shaking their heads frantically, before she sighed and hugged him. It was then that he registered the sobbing was coming from him.
"It's alright Ferret." he heard the woman murmur as she petted his head. "She's going to be alright."