Author's Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. You can tell I am not she because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment #4, Geography Task #3: Quebec: Write about someone being disowned, or otherwise leaving their family

Warnings: Amnesia; Wizarding War setting

This week's AU: Amnesia!AU

A Memory Charm Three Ways

Joy

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his eyes flutter. She knew that she was supposed to call the Healers when this happened but she was so shocked and so completely ecstatic that he had woken up that she couldn't move until she was sure he was awake.

Remus' head rolled over so that he looked at her with hazy, blinking eyes that had trouble focusing.

"Hello," she said quietly.

"Hi," he said groggily. Then he looked around the hospital room, the simple motion of turning his head to the side seeming laborious and difficult.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," Tonks recited. "You were hit by a powerful curse fired by a Death Eater. It wiped your memories… pretty completely, we think."

"Yes," Remus said. "Yes, I think so too, I don't… I'm sorry, you must know me if you're here, but I don't remember you."

"That's alright," Tonks said gently, her heart breaking at how absolutely polite and cordial he was even in this impossible situation. It nearly made up for just how badly she wanted him to remember her name. "Do you remember your name?"

He paused for a few minutes.

"I think… I think Remus," he said. "Remus Lupin."

"Yes," she said. "Yes, that's awesome."

"I still don't remember yours, I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm Tonks," she said. "Nymphadora Tonks."

"Hi," Remus said. "Were we… were we friends?"

Tonks bit her lip.

"I'm actually your wife," she said.

Remus frowned and looked at her for a second, as if she were something mesmerizing or glowing, and then he scoffed.

"No," he said. "There's no way."

"What do you mean, no way?" Tonks asked.

"You're far too…" Remus scoffed again and looked away, a blush spreading over his nose and cheeks.

"Say it," Tonks said, unable to help herself from smiling. "You can tell me."

"No, I can't," Remus mumbled. "We've only just met."

"Well, maybe," Tonks said. "But I promise you can tell me anything. Whatever you're thinking, I can promise that you've said much bolder things to me before, you know…"

Remus blushed some more and Tonks bit back a smile, slapping herself internally for it. It had to be wrong to say such suggestive things to someone freshly hit by a memory charm. Still, she'd worn her baggiest sweater to the hospital which was hiding her baby bump nicely—at least she wasn't shocking her poor husband with the news that he was married and the news of his impending fatherhood all at once.

"You're just very pretty," Remus said. "And you're very young. I… I can't imagine that you possibly would want someone like me."

Of course, the man had no memories of his life but his doubt and self-deprecation remained. Why wasn't she surprised?

"Yes, you did point out these two things to be a lot before we got married—which only happened after I promised you that I didn't care multiple times," Tonks said. "I promise you I still don't."

"Did I stop calling you beautiful after we got married? I should be shot," Remus said.

Tonks smiled.

"No, you never stopped," Tonks said. "See, that's why I sat here and waited. I want you back."

Remus chewed on his lip some more.

"Are my memories going to come back?" he asked.

"I don't know," Tonks said frankly. "The Healers said to give you time, but they weren't sure. We might have to make you new ones."

"That… that would probably be okay," Remus said.

Patience

Remus' Healers came to meet her in the waiting room, as they always did. She got up when she saw them arriving and wrapped her cardigan around herself.

"How is he today?" she asked.

"Better," the Healer said. "The photographs you brought along have helped us jog his memory and make the things we told him feel real."

"Brilliant," Tonks said. She looked at the Healers' faces. Like Aurors, they were trained to deliver news straightforwardly, plainly, and neutrally. Their faces were impassive, but she could read through them. "But..?"

"But he isn't ready to meet anyone from his life yet," the Healer said. "A botched memory charm is an incredibly difficult recovery, Mrs. Tonks."

"I know," Tonks said. "I know, it's fine, I'm fine. I want him to take the time that he needs."

As much as I would kill to see him again, she thought. Patience had never been one of her virtues and her well was running dry now—but for Remus she could wait. For Remus she could do just about anything, after all. Besides, he had woken up without memories, alone where the Death Eaters had left him, and had then been lost in the Muggle hospital systems for days before he'd been brought to St. Mungo's. She couldn't fault that process for taking his time.

"Does he know about me or the baby?" Tonks asked.

"No," the Healer said carefully. "No, we… we haven't told him yet, as per your request. We're continuing to wait until his formative memories are restored."

Tonks nodded.

"Good," she said. "Good, thank you."

She had seen Remus react once to the news that he would be a father. She didn't need to put him through that hell again, when he didn't have anybody safe to go home to. That was what was important: that he have a safe place to go home to. It didn't matter how long it took him to get there.

3. Safety

She wished she wasn't alone to hear these words. Well, she wasn't quite alone now—she never was nowadays, as the baby pressing against (nay, dancing atop) her bladder reminded her. Still, there was only so much comfort she could garner from running her hand up and down her belly bump as she looked into her husband's hospital room.

"We have absolutely no idea how functional he will be when he wakes up," the Healer said. "Maybe all he'll need is time. Maybe he'll need Healer intervention. Maybe none of the above will bring all of his memories, and therefore all of him, back."

Tonks knew it was a bad sign that a Healer specializing in memory loss charms had come down from the hospital's permanent spell damage ward to speak.

"There's no way to know until he wakes up though, is there?" Tonks asked.

"I'm afraid not," the Healer said. He looked around them before making direct eye contact with her and lowering his voice. "And I know your husband is with the Order of the Phoenix. I know he was probably fighting with the Death Eaters when he was hit by this curse. I don't… I don't know how able to protect himself against them he'll be."

Tonks' eyes widened, shocked by the Healer's directness given the new regime they were all toiling under.

"He was my professor, for a year at Hogwarts," the Healer added, looking at his shoes. "He was one of my favourites. Wrote the recommendation letter that got me into St. Mungo's Healer Training program and really made me believe that I could get in if I applied."

"Right," Tonks said quietly. "Yes, he's good at making you feel like you're the most special person in the world."

She looked up again, into the hospital room, where Remus was sleeping atop a pile of pillows. His other injuries had been attended to with various potions and enchanted bandages, but his memory…

"He might not be safe," Tonks said quietly.

"St. Mungo's has been lucky," the Healer said. "The Death Eaters haven't bothered us here—I think they know there would be riots if they broke the hospital's neutrality and sanctuary status. But the second your husband steps out of St. Mungo's and goes home with you…"

"They might finish what they started," Tonks said quietly.

"Yes," the Healer said. "That would be my fear."

She exhaled, trying to steady herself, as she rested her hand on top of the spot that the baby was choosing to kick especially hard today.

"And if he doesn't remember who he is, let alone how to duel or protect himself or spot Death Eaters down the street…" she chewed her lip. "He'd be in so much danger."

"So much," the Healer echoed. "There are things we can do to bring up his memory bit by bit, little by little, but I fear it may not be fast enough or comprehensive enough to help."

"And he's not just any patient," Tonks said. He was Remus Lupin. He had been in the Order of the Phoenix since its inception. This is his second Wizarding War. He was a half-breed, by Death Eater standards, married to a blood traitor's daughter, and father to an unborn but half-werewolf child. As far as targets went, under this regime…

"He isn't," the Healer agreed.

"If you were me, would you trust St. Mungo's to keep your favourite person in the world safe?" she asked quietly.

The Healer didn't answer immediately, which was enough of an answer to Tonks.

"We're trying," the Healer confided in a strained voice. "But at the same time, we're just waiting for our luck to break."

Her answer was clear. It came to her like an intrusive thought—she hadn't asked for it or wanted it, but she knew she was right when she said it.

"Don't do any of those things you mentioned that might start bringing his memory back," Tonks said.

"I… I beg your pardon?" the Healer said.

"Look, would you be able to help me get him out of here quietly if I supplied a Portkey?" Tonks asked. She and Fleur had found a way to make them so that the Ministry wouldn't trace them, between Fleur's brilliance at charms and Tonks' insider knowledge of the ministry. They had gotten a few Muggleborns out of England and to France that way since the war had begun. If she went to Shell Cottage quickly, they could make another Portkey as soon as tonight… the thought twisted her stomach.

"I…" the Healer stuttered. "To go where?"

"I think it's safer if I didn't tell you," Tonks said. "But somewhere safe, where other Healers would be able to take care of him. Just not… just not Healers in this country."

"I…" the Healer looked stunned but then he shook himself out of his stupor. "Yes, of course I could. But you do realize that if we don't address the memory loss as soon as it wakes up it may become permanent?"

"That's alright," Tonks said. The words made her feel sick and they tasted bitter in her mouth, no matter how right she knew they were. "It's more… it's more important that he be safe."

She broke her heart saying it, but she didn't regret those words. She just hoped that Remus, and maybe the son she was about to have for them, would forgive her this choice one day.

WC: 1828