A/N: I wanted to post one last chapter before I ran off to the beach. Um…yeah. Don't kill me though, okay?
Chapter Ten
Arthur Weasley stood in front of the full Wizengamut for the second time that year. His heart was pounding as little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. A soft gasp came from his wife who was sitting beside him. Molly clutched his arm as Ginny was led in the courtroom. The petite little girl looked as though she had been stranded in the wilderness for a year, rather than held in Auror custody for a few days. Her cheeks were hollow, her skin was sallow, and her hair hung in stringy clumps around her head. Professor McGonagall had been right on the heels of Ginny, Harry, and Ron and had escorted them directly back home to the justice department.
Ginny was led to the witness stand where a veritaserum was administered and tested. The Wizards took turns asking her questions about her trip to visit Hermione. Her answers were controlled, but forcibly honest. It was obvious to Molly Weasley that her daughter was exercising a great deal of self-restraint.
"But why did you do it?" a short wizard with a pompous nose demanded. "Why would you risk exposing yourself and our world to countless millions of muggles?"
"Because no one believed me when I said that there was something wrong with Hermione," Ginny snapped, unable to contain herself any longer. "She didn't remember who we were!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. Ginny kept repeating this sentence until she was finally led out of the courtroom. Molly buried her face in Arthur's shoulder, wishing she could comfort her tortured child. There was some discussion among the court members before Dumbledore stood up.
"Miss Virginia Weasley will be treated at St. Mungo's before a sentence is determined. Until that time she will be placed in isolation, under heavy observation," he said solemnly. Molly sobbed inaudibly into her husband's shoulder. Dumbledore sat down and the courtroom doors opened again to let Harry enter.
Harry's examination went much more smoothly than Ginny's had. He was able to speak calmly about the events surrounding their trip and the information he had garnered from his visit. When he was able to confirm that Hermione did not remember who he was, and that Draco Malfoy had also acknowledged this fact, there was a great deal of discussion in the courtroom. Harry was dismissed from the court room, and sentenced to one year in a containment facility until further information could be obtained.
"That's not so bad," Arthur whispered to his wife, trying to soothe her. She shuddered and glared at him. Ron took the stand, but it was quickly obvious that the concern of the court members had turned from punishing the students to Hermione's condition.
"I don't know," Ron repeated, for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was clearly frustrated that he could not provide better answers. "She seemed fine to me until a week or two before Christmas," he said again. Finally, Ron was given the same sentence as Harry and the court adjourned briefly.
"Where is Ginny?" Molly asked her husband. "Can I see her?" she asked. Arthur led his wife to the courtroom doors where the guards informed him that he was not allowed to leave the room yet.
"But I need to see my daughter," he protested. "I work here," he reminded the guard.
"Your presence is demanded at the next hearing," the guard on the left said. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exchanged confused glances.
"But I don't have anything to do with the border dispute," Mr. Weasley protested. The guard pointed to the schedule again, where a new agenda item had just appeared. Next to the 10:15 time slot it read, "The London Ministry of Magic v. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"You cannot pass," the guard repeated. Arthur and his wife returned to their seats, and sat silently staring off into space until the Wizengamut returned.
"Our first witness today will be Mr. Lucius Malfoy," a young wizard announced. Lucius Malfoy walked to the witness stand and sat on the very edge of the seat as though he could not stand to share a chair that had so recently been occupied by someone he thought very little of.
"Tell us, Mr. Malfoy, just why you think this project should come to an end," Albus Dumbledore was the first to speak. He looked harshly at Lucius, having already heard this argument once before.
"I have been against this project since the start. I feel as though our students should not be wasting their time pretending to be muggles when they could be participating in much more rewarding experiences and preparing for their N.E.W.T.s," he began. "I feel as though in these troubled times it is a very bad idea to spread our students out across the globe where they are potentially more vulnerable to attack by those with ill intent. And I have not been wrong. Miss Granger has already been attacked by a muggle, and now this repeated struggle with memory. I am curious to know how these things have enriched her education any."
"I would assume, Mr. Malfoy, that by 'those with ill intent' you mean to say Voldemort and his followers?" another wizard asked.
"Certainly they are a concern, but obviously not the only threat to our students as I have already illustrated with my example of Miss Granger's troubles," Lucius replied.
"Is it untrue, Mr. Malfoy that you have a great deal of hatred for the muggle world?" a petite witch with gray hair asked.
"I despise all things muggle," Lucius responded. "Yet I am able see the value in studying them, and so do not let my opinion color my judgment of this project. I feel as though the students could spend time pretending to be muggles for short periods of time in the close vicinity of the school and still achieve the desired results."
The court members asked him a few more questions and then called Arthur Weasley to the stand. He was asked to talk about the spell that was used for the project and then to give his opinion of the project itself. Molly watched with bated breath, but Arthur delivered the information to the court flawlessly without stumbling over his words. He returned to his seat next to his wife.
"I just said the same thing I said before this project is started. They know all of that information already," Arthur whispered, sounding incredibly frustrated. Molly patted his hand sympathetically and watched the clock, hoping that the hearing would proceed a little faster.
The court adjourned again for lunch after listening to several more testimonies. For the most part, it was all old information. Arthur and Molly rushed to see their children.
"You cannot go in there," a short plump medi-witch informed Mrs. Weasley when they found Ginny's room.
"I am her mother," Mrs. Weasley enunciated each word carefully. "You will let me in this room, that child is under the legal age." The little witch moved aside and Mrs. Weasley burst through the door. Ginny was lying on her side in the bed, heavily sedated. Mrs. Weasley scooped her up in one fell swoop and cradled her against her chest. "My poor, poor baby," she said. Arthur sat down on the bed next to her, stroking Ginny's hair.
"I'm okay," Ginny said slowly, struggling to push the words past the medication. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about it, that's not important," Mrs. Weasley said. Ginny sighed and let her head fall onto her mother's shoulder.
"You did the right thing," a voice boomed into the room. The Weasley family turned to see Lucius Malfoy and McCrone Zabini darkening the doorway of Ginny's room. "You should be commended, Miss Weasley, for the demonstrating the courage and fortitude that you have these past few days."
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Arthur Weasley demanded. McCrone stepped forward.
"I want to help your daughter," he said. "I have two daughters of my own, and it is because of one of those daughters that your daughter is in her present state."
"We don't need your help," Molly protested, getting to her feet.
"Oh?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not from you," Arthur agreed. "Please, leave my family alone," he said, motioning for the men to leave the room.
"I must protest," McCrone said. Arthur shook his head.
"No thank you. Please leave," he repeated. Lucius shrugged and followed McCrone out the door. Arthur and Molly sat back down on Ginny's bed. Ginny was now sleeping soundly. "I ought to get back to the courtroom," Arthur said. "You can wait here if you want."
"I'll come with you, she's asleep now," Molly decided. "I'd like to be there for the decision," she confessed, "Hermione is almost like another daughter to me."
Hermione sat on the edge of her bathtub with one foot propped up, taking her toenail polish off. It had been a very uneventful first day back to school. She was almost sorry she had gone, aside from the relief she had felt to finally turn in her portfolio. Seeing the door open, her mother stepped into the room.
"Can you turn the fan on? I'm getting a little dizzy from these fumes," Hermione asked. Her mother gave her a quizzical look.
"For goodness sake, Hermione, why didn't you let me just schedule you an appointment at the salon?" Mrs. Granger asked, flipping the switch for the fan.
"I thought it would be fun to do it myself," Hermione sighed. Her mother came and sat down next to Hermione on the edge of the tub, facing the opposite direction.
"You know, Hermione, your father will be facing a pay cut when if he's elected Senator, but that doesn't mean we have to give up the basic life necessities," Mrs. Granger said. Hermione was too shocked to speak. Her mother considered pedicures a basic life necessity? "You look awfully pale, are you tired?" Mrs. Granger observed. Hermione suddenly felt like she was about to pass out. She put her foot back onto the floor and turned around so her feet rested on the cool ceramic tile floor. Her vision started to get blurry and dark at the edges, and she struggled to lift the lid on the toilet bowl.
Just as it was open, Hermione's entire body convulsed sending the entire contents of her stomach upwards. She hated throwing up. It had to be one of the more disgusting bodily processes in existence. The feeling of being unable to control her body's actions really made her uneasy. Her mother held her hair back and rubbed her back soothingly, but this gesture made Hermione feel slightly repulsed. She was not a child anymore, what she really needed now was privacy. Flushing the toilet, Hermione collapsed onto the floor feeling stupid and suddenly weak.
Mrs. Granger handed her a glass of water and a tissue. Hermione took these things and mumbled a thank you. Her mother followed her into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. She picked up a random piece of paper that had fallen off Hermione's desk and set it neatly back in its place.
"How do you feel now?" she asked Hermione.
"Horrible," Hermione replied honestly.
"There isn't a chance you could be, um, pregnant, is there?" Mrs. Granger asked nervously.
"No way!" Hermione exclaimed, even though the look on her face had answered her mother's question immediately. She and Draco had definitely not gotten anywhere near having sex yet. They barely had time to kiss with the constant interruptions.
"I just wondered," her mother said softly. "You would tell me, right? I mean, if you and Draco were thinking about-"
"Mrs. Granger, I am disappointed," Draco's voice startled the two women. He grinned at them and came to sit next to Hermione. "Hermione and I have been dating for two whole weeks. I can assure you that nothing of interest has transpired," he informed her. Mrs. Granger sat up straight.
"I just want you to know that I understand," she said. "And you can go on the Pill whenever you want, no questions asked," she added, before standing up. Hermione's cheeks were flaming red by the time the door shut.
"The pill?" Draco laughed. "That woman is missing out," he sniffed, thinking of the Wizarding methods of birth control. Hermione looked at him blankly. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't heard of that, uh, patch," he said, struggling to think of a muggle method. He had forgotten that Hermione could not remember the Wizarding world.
"She has sensitive skin," Hermione informed him. She sank into the bed.
"I was going to take you out for coffee, but it looks like you probably aren't interested," Draco assessed. Hermione shook her head emphatically.
"I just threw up everything I've ever eaten," she said. "Hence the birth control discussion."
"She thought you were pregnant?" he asked. "I was under the impression that she thought more highly of me than that," he sounded insulted.
"It's not about you," Hermione stated. "As soon as a girl hits puberty that's the first question they always ask, no matter what the circumstances. You have a stomach ache? Are you pregnant? You broke your arm? Are you pregnant? It's ridiculous."
"Yeah," Draco was not sure what to say. He lay back on the pillow next to Hermione. "How do you feel now?"
"Better, but not good," she sighed. "Why me? I never used to get sick."
"I dunno," Draco lied, sitting up. His conscience was killing him. Hermione was probably sick from all the magic and manipulation going on with her memory. She sighed again, and Draco decided it was time. "Hermione, I have to tell you something, and you're probably going to hate me after I tell you," he began. She rolled onto her side to look at him, and something in her eyes made him want to cry. He sighed and looked down at his hands. He could not go through with it. "I, uh," he tried to think of something to say.
"What does this have to do with?" she asked. Now he was caught. He tried to think of something, and fast. One thing came to mind immediately.
"Homecoming," he blurted, before he was sure of what he was doing. She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to go on. Draco sighed. "For Homecoming, Pansy and Blaise and I thought it would be funny if you were elected to Homecoming Court. You know, because you weren't that type of person at Hogwarts and…" he trailed off. Hermione just looked at him.
"Draco, I don't hate you," she said, rolling her eyes. She rolled back onto her back. "That's actually a relief," she said. "I couldn't figure how I would be picked for the court. And now I know."
"Well, our joke backfired, because Violet got the whole honor society to vote for you too. Plus photo club. So you ended up winning," he explained. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Typical," She remarked, yawning. "But I don't hate you," she repeated. Draco sighed and kissed her forehead before lying back down. He stared at the ceiling, trying to think of something else to say.
"It is the opinion of the Wizengamut that the Advanced Muggle Studies project assigned by Professor Samantha Meurteuil places students in immediate and potentially fatal danger and therefore is in violation of the decree for the use of magic, section seven. Said project will cease and desist on Saturday, January the eighth, at which time all students will return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Albus Dumbledore announced to the crowd in the courtroom. Molly Weasley felt her spirits lift slightly, knowing that Hermione would be back under Dumbledore's watchful eye.
"It is also the opinion of this court that the three students tried earlier today were acting in such a manner as to protect their fellow classmates, and hence their sentences have been reduced accordingly. They will each serve one year of community service as a penalty for potentially endangering the lives of the entire Wizarding race," Dumbledore finished. Arthur Wesley gave his wife's hand a happy squeeze. Now all that was left to do was to see Ginny off to the hospital and return the boys safely to school.
Hermione sipped on her coffee frappachino and waited not so patiently for Draco to show up. It was Friday morning and it was almost time for them to be at the school to leave on their leadership trip. A few selected members of the class were taking a trip to a nationwide seminar for high school leadership students. As much as she thought the class was a joke, she was really looking forward to the trip because it was the first vacation she had gotten all year so far, aside from her bout of mono.
Car headlights appeared in the driveway and Hermione opened the door to start carrying her suitcases out. But it was not Draco who had just pulled in. Violet's familiar bob appeared over the car. Hermione could see Holden sitting in the driver's seat.
"I just came to say goodbye," Violet said, her darkly outlined eyes a little misty. Hermione gave her best friend a hug.
"I'll be back on Monday," Hermione laughed. Violet looked down at her sneakers.
"Yeah," she said softly. "Well, I'll get out of your way, I just wanted you to know that I really liked being your friend, Hermione. And um, write to me," Violet added. Hermione laughed.
"I won't be gone that long," she reminded Violet. Violet's eyes welled up with tears and she ran back to the car without another word. Hermione wanted to run after her, but Holden was already backing down the driveway so instead she went back into the house.
"Who was that?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Violet," Hermione said. "You don't think she would run away, do you?" she asked her mother.
"No," Mrs. Granger replied slowly.
"She was just acting like she would never see me again," Hermione said. Mrs. Granger exchanged a look with her husband and Hermione noticed for the first time that both of their eyes were red, as though they had been crying.
"Good morning!" Draco chirped, coming into the kitchen. He gave Hermione a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Are you all ready?" he asked. She nodded and gestured to her bags.
"Let me help with those," her father said, getting up from his seat.
"That's all you're taking?" her mother asked.
"I am only going to be gone for four days," Hermione reminded her mother. Mrs. Granger bit her lip and followed Hermione out to the driveway.
"I think we're ready," Draco said, looking pointedly at Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger gave Hermione a big hug.
"Make us proud, sweetheart," he said. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to hug her mother.
"I'm going to miss you," she said, getting teary eyed. "I love you, Hermione," she added. "You're the best daughter anyone could ask for."
"I love you too, Mom," Hermione replied. "I'll be back on Monday," she informed them, as though they did not already know. For some reason these words sent her mother into full-blown sobs. Mr. Granger pulled her into his arms and waved goodbye as Draco backed the car out of the driveway. "What is wrong with everyone today?" Hermione asked him.
Draco shrugged, afraid to open his mouth for fear of what would come out. The ministry had taken great pains to keep Hermione from being confused by any Wizarding things before she could be examined by the staff at St. Mungo's. All of the Hogwart's students had received a letter detailing how the end of the project would come about and how they would return home without making Hermione suspicious. Keeping secrets from her was driving Draco absolutely insane. He hated lying to her about so many things. The rest of the car ride was spent in complete silence, and Draco was relieved when they finally pulled into the school parking lot.
All of the other students who were going on the "leadership trip" had already congregated in the leadership classroom. Hermione was surprised to see that Pansy and Blaise were looking very teary-eyed as well.
"I'm going to miss so much stuff here," Blaise wailed. Hermione rolled her eyes and put her suitcases down in the corner with everyone else's luggage.
"Now that everyone is here, I want to get a picture of you all by the statue," Mrs. H said. They all headed out to the school's lobby and arranged themselves around the statue of the school's founder. Hermione found herself sitting on the base of the statue next to Draco. He took her hand and she smiled at him, before the first picture was taken. Mrs. H promised she would just take one more picture.
As the flash went off, Hermione felt like an invisible hand was tugging at her bellybutton. Suddenly Mrs. H and her camera were gone and all Hermione could see was darkness. She could still feel the sensation of Draco's hand in hers, though his actual hand had been ripped from her grasp. Eventually Hermione landed not so softly on solid ground. She looked around to see if she could tell where she was, but nothing looked familiar to her.
Dark stone was everywhere, and the air was thick and musty. Hermione's eyes adjusted to the light and she could see the other students around her. Whatever had just happened had left her feeling a little bit dizzy. A bright light appeared suddenly, as though a door had opened, revealing a staircase. Long black robes descended until Hermione could finally make out the face of the person wearing them. He appeared to be an elderly man with short grey hair and a round face.
"Ahh!" Blaise cooed and rushed into the man's arms. She gave him a big hug and smiled happily.
"How was your journey?" the man asked. He had an English accent and Hermione's pores slammed shut at the sound of his voice, creating tiny goose bumps all over. A chill ran down her spine.
"I've had smoother," Draco responded. The man laughed delicately, which was a much more pleasant sound than his voice but still hollow-sounding.
"And where is your beautiful girlfriend?" the man asked Draco, referring to Hermione. She stepped forward and Draco pushed her a few more feet closer to the man so he could get a good look at her. "You're awfully pale, missy, do you feel quite right?" he asked. Hermione barely had time to shake her head no before she passed out.
When Hermione woke up again all she could see was Draco sitting by the side of her bed. He had a very sad, solemn expression on his face that Hermione had never seen him wearing before. She reached out and touched his cheek softly, making him jump and grab her hand. In the other hand he grabbed his wand, and then dropped it realizing that it was just Hermione. He forced a smile.
"Hey," he said softly, releasing her hand. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I think my arm is on fire," she replied, looking at it. Draco laughed and took her chin in his hand and kissed her.
"You have an IV," he informed her. She frowned and looked at her other arm, which indeed contained an IV.
"But that's not the arm that hurts," she protested. Draco shrugged.
"I don't pretend to understand muggle medicine," he said. Hermione sighed.
"Muggles are perfectly good with medicine, thank you," she informed him. He smiled fiercely at her, catching her off guard. "What?" she asked.
"You're back," he replied.
"Was I gone?" she asked.
"Your memory, it was gone," he told her. She thought for a moment.
"But I remember everything," she said. "We went to school and sat on the statue and that brought us to the basement with that man, I think he was Blaise's grandfather, and then I collapsed, so I guess you brought me here?" she tried to fill in the ending.
"No, not at all," Draco shook his head. "We went to school and sat on the statue and that brought us straight here for a checkup. You had already passed out so they brought you up here."
"I distinctly remember the basement," Hermione protested. Draco shook his head, laughing.
"Hermione! You're awake!" Mrs. Weasley had been visiting Ginny so she had just stopped by. "I am so glad to have you home; we were so worried about you and your memory."
"I don't remember not remembering anything," Hermione said, making them all laugh.
"Well, I'm just glad that you made it home safely and that there was nothing really wrong with you," Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione smiled and said goodbye to the woman.
"All of our stuff is at school," Draco said. "Even the stuff we didn't pack," he added. "You know Blaise and Pansy would have died if they had been forced to give up all those clothes," he said. Hermione laughed.
"I would have missed some of those things too," she agreed. "So, do you think I'll get to go back to school today?"
"Well, today is Friday, so I wouldn't worry about missing any classes," Draco teased. "The healer said that you would be allowed to go home as soon as you finish your bag of fluid. He thinks you're dehydrated which is why you got sick the other day and this morning after using the portkey," he informed her, stroking her cheek. She smiled, even though a part of her wished that she could be back in the states. Now she understood why everyone had been crying when she left that morning. Fortunately, they would not remember that she had ever even existed, right?