December 23, 1999

The Manor was quiet. Narcissa and Lucius had gone to France to meet up with an acquaintance and Draco had left for work. The days before the holidays were always terribly hectic for him.

But Hermione couldn't have been more relieved. Ever since the revelations at the Weasleys' shop, she had been aching to grab a hold of Winky and demand the truth. But Narcissa had made all the elves work tirelessly for decorating the huge Manor and Hermione had not even seen the elf since their trip to the Weasleys.

"Winky!" Hermione had Scorpius in her arms and her baby boy was sleeping soundly.

Her elf appeared in a somewhat subdued crack, so that Scorp didn't wake up. "Winky, grab the pram alright? Let us move to the gardens; the sun is out today and Scorp needs some warmth."

The trio made their way to the famous Malfoy gardens. The winters had been harsh this time around, but the charms around the gardens had protected the plants. Narcissa's gardening skills were truly noteworthy.

Having seated herself in a rather elegant porch at one end of the garden, she laid her baby on his soft pram and cast a strong Muffliato around her.

"Okay Winky, spill! Tell me everything you know."

The elf shrugged and began, "The world Mistress in, not what Mistress think it to be. Mistress sheltered…always. Mistress kept in a glass house…glass house break anytime."

For the first time in three years, Hermione saw her elf being assertive and strong. It was a magical sight.

He continued, "Mistress remember first time meets Master Draco?"

Hermione nodded. She had woken up in a bed of . Apparently, There had been a floo accident, during her travel to England from Bulgaria; her parents had lost their lives and Hermione had a few broken bones. The very first thing that she had seen on opening her eyes, were the silver orbs of Draco. He was seated on an uncomfortable looking chair beside her bed. He held her as he broke the news of her parents' death, and comforted her as she cried her eyes out. She was told that the healers could not find any living relatives of hers in England and that her memories were gone. Draco had offered her the Manor to stay as she recuperated. With absolutely no other option in hand and nowhere to go, she had agreed and Draco had been so good to her at the time; keeping a track of her medicines, taking her on tours of the Malfoy libraries, surprising her with picnics in the beautiful gardens. They had fallen in love quickly, and gotten married within two weeks; Scorpius's arrival was confirmed only a month later.

"All lies Mistress!" the elf cried out.

Hermione gulped as she tried to remain calm and strong; strong enough to hear the rest of the story. The painful fact was that they were not stories, they were truths; truths that had been kept from her and was about to turn her whole life upside down. The only life she knew was about to be destroyed. Not only hers, but probably Scorpius's as well.

She bit her lip to stop herself from trembling and urged Winky to go on.

The elf sniffed as he recalled the horrifying events that took place in the Manor 2 years ago and the series of events that followed after. Everything was lost. The evil had won! The political regime Draco talked about was in reality the reign of a Dark Lord – Voldemort.

Hermione was on the rocking chair, still as a statue while looking out at the dusky horizon as Scorpius lay soundly asleep beside her in his pram. Her mind was whirling with all that Winky told her earlier this afternoon.

He told her how the three of them; Harry, Ron and she were inseparable. Yes…they were her best friends! Winky had told her about The Chosen One, and how brave he was to stand up against a dark wizard like Lord Voldemort. The same dark wizard that now reigned all over England and Scotland. And the war! She had indeed been in the Battle of Hogwarts; fighting alongside her friends; fighting for The Light; fighting for Harry. Everything was going according to plan until they were captured by a group of Snatchers and were handed over to the Malfoys. Malfoys! Her family. Only family! What happened next? This part she remembered clearly now. Very vividly so.

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April 15, 1997

She was screaming until she could scream no more. So she continued to writhe in pain soundlessly as Bellatrix Lestrange continued to Crucio her. It stopped after awhile, much to Hermione's shock and dismay. She was thankful though. Her vision was blurry from all the streaming tears and pain, and could faintly make out the figure of a blonde boy talking in a hushed tone with his insane aunt.

The next thing she remembered was her floating in the air. She couldn't move; probably because of a full body-bind curse in effect. She was being taken down to the dungeon where Harry and Ron were kept prisoners. She felt proud at herself that she didn't give up any information despite the horrifying torture, but the feeling didn't last long as she saw two Snatchers dragging Ron and Harry upstairs. She could hear Bellatrix cackle in delight as she screamed happily about the imminent demise of the chosen one. Hermione's blood froze. Did they recognize Harry? How? She remembered Draco whispering to his aunt and hatred filled her mind and body for the boy as she connected the dots.

But then why was she being spared? Spared? She laughed to herself mirthlessly. Why would they spare a mudblood? They must have even more terrible things in store for her. Instant death would be too much of a privilege to be bestowed upon a mudblood right? Fear gripped her insides as she heard Harry and Ron scream from being tortured as she lay helplessly down in the dungeons. Suddenly everything fell silent and Hermione held her breath and strained to listen to any sound that might give her an inkling to what's going on. She heard a hiss, and an ice-cold muffled voice muttering "…davra!" and a thud; followed by another.

Hermione shut her eyes quick; wishing it were a horrible nightmare and she didn't just hear her two best friends die. Nothing! She was still here. Harry and Ron were indeed dead! What will happen now? To her? Her insides were coiling and she felt nauseous.

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That's the last she could remember on her own. Winky confirmed her suspicions that her magic within had indeed allowed her to preserve some of her memories; happy as well as bitter memories, locked away from the reach of all others, even from the Obliviate charm.

Hermione started to cry silently as she recalled Winky telling her about how Draco had wiped all her memories after winning Hermione as a 'reward' from The Dark Lord, about how he had concocted a story about her 'accident', and how him and the Malfoys had played along for all these years.

She remembered being hopelessly in love with Ron; only to grow out of it and fall in love with a man who killed her best friends and probably so many others. She hated herself for not being able to hate Draco even after all this. The conflict between the past which she had lost, and the present she is living in, left her in a turmoil of emotions.