"Dr. Otto, what is this place?"
"This is Hogwarts, Gilderoy. Do you remember it at all?"
"I thought I did. Isn't there a lake, with merpeople in it? Rose used to love to hear them sing."
"Yes, there's the lake, Gilderoy. Anything else you remember?"
"Someone laughing at Rose."
"Do you remember what this someone looked like?"
Gilderoy thought for a few moments. "No, his face has slipped from my mind. Can we go in now?"
"Of course we can. There's someone here to meet you, who will show you to your room. Her name is Poppy Pomfrey. I'll only be seeing you to the door."
"Won't you be staying here with me?"
"No, Gilderoy. I have others to attend to back at St. Mungo's. Don't worry, they'll take wonderful care of you here."
"But I'll miss you, Dr. Otto."
"And I'll miss you, Gilderoy. You have to get on with your life, though – and this may be the best way to regain those memories you lost."
"Like how I became famous?"
"Hopefully, you'll remember other things first. Like your days at Hogwarts, or something of your home life."
"Or Rose," he whispered, a melancholic expression creeping over his faces as they reached the doors to the castle. Dr. Otto knocked three times, and then they went inside. A woman stood there waiting for them, smiling.
"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," Dr. Otto lightly said. "Here's Gilderoy, please take care of him. Good-bye Gil. I'll miss taking care of you."
"Come and visit me, please?"
"I'll try, Gilderoy, but I'm not going to make any promises." Dr. Otto smiled once more at her former charge and then turned and went out the door.
"Well, Gilderoy, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your room. Professor Dumbledore is waiting there for you – he has some things he needs to explain."
He smiled at her, a grin that reminded Poppy of the old Gilderoy, the one who had loved to be the center of attention, no matter the cost. "Lead, and I shall follow, Madam Pomfrey."
Trying to put the past behind her, she haltingly said, "You don't have to call me that. We were friends once, and you called me Poppy."
"Poppy it is then." He followed her obediently up the stairs, his senses soaking in the very essence of Hogwarts. He thought nothing amiss when the staircase moved, almost as if he had unconsciously expected it to. The further they walked, the more things seemed to crystalize in his head. This was home, where he was meant to be. And though he hadn't seen her yet, he could almost feel the stones of the walls sing out that his Rose was here, waiting to return to him.
Finally, they were at the Infirmary door. Poppy turned to him and said, "We have a patient who is resting right now. Please, enter quietly, as we're trying not to disturb her too much."
Gilderoy nodded his head and followed her inside the room. He shut the door behind him and was startled to see two people there. Albus noticed his discomfort and quickly spoke. "Gilderoy, this is Severus. You went to school with him. He was friends with Si-Rose and you. He's been doing some research into memory potions over the years, and he feels that he has something that might help you regain your memories faster."
Severus glared at first Albus, then Gilderoy, and then back at Albus. "If that's all you need me here for, I'll be going. I've a class to teach."
"Severus, remember what I told you. It's okay, Gilderoy, Severus has been a little testy lately, as I've asked him to do things that put him outside his comfort zone."
"There's more to it than that, Sir, and you know it. Good day." Severus swept out of the room and down the short hall, pausing only a moment to look in on Hermione, who seemed engrossed in the text she was reading.
"That went well," Albus said after Severus had gone.
"You know how volatile he is, Albus, especially about, you know," Poppy replied.
"So, who's my Infirmary buddy?" Gilderoy asked, hoping to relieve some of the tension in the room.
"Your what?"
"You know, Infirmary buddy – the one stuck here like I am."
"Oh, it's Hermione Granger."
"May I meet her?"
"Not today, Gilderoy. We have to get you settled in first. Now, I understand that at St. Mungo's they were teaching you how to use magic again, right?" Albus asked.
"Yes, that's right. They figured I was on par with a fifth year, as to the level I had caught back up to. But it seems as if I couldn't advance any further; and my instructors were quite baffled by that."
"Hopefully, we'll solve that as well, Gilderoy. I'll leave you to settle in with Poppy. And, welcome back to Hogwarts." Albus left the room, intending to find Severus and figure out what was wrong.
Gilderoy looked at Poppy, who was gathering up the first set of potions he had to take and asked, "So, who's paying for this? Do I really have enough money to stay on here indefinitely?"
"Gilderoy, you have more than enough money to last you through two lifetimes. You were once the author of a popular series of books."
"That's right, I still got fan mail at St. Mungo's. D'you think I'll get some here as well?"
Poppy watched him drink down the potions before answering. "I assume you will get some forwarded here from there, but no one knows you're here, and Albus plans on keeping it that way for as long as possible." Taking the vials from him, she began to walk out the door when his voice stopped her.
"Will I be able to ask Rose to forgive me?"
Turning, she gave him a hard look. "Just how much do you remember, Gilderoy?"
"Sometimes, I get vague recollections of things. Being here has reminded me that I did something awful to my Rose, but I don't know what. Will she come to see me?"
"That's up to her, but seeing as how she knows nothing about you being here, it's not very likely that she will. Now get some rest, Gilderoy. I'll be back to check on you later."
Hermione had heard the commotion of Severus leaving the room of the mysterious visitor. She'd had to quickly open the text that lay on her lap when she heard him pause by her room. She didn't want anyone to think that she'd been trying to hear who the visitor was.
She was glad that he only stopped for a moment, and even gladder he didn't say anything to her. She was still kicking herself, mentally, over their conversation last night. For someone so smart, I really know how to dig myself a hole when it comes to Severus. I wonder if he'll be by tonight, she thought.
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey walked by her room, muttering to herself. Hermione caught, "We should never have brought him here," before the nurse was out of her hearing range.
The wheels began to turn in Hermione's head. So, it's a man that's staying here, and obviously not someone well liked, judging by both Severus' and Poppy's reactions. There aren't many people whom they both dislike, who can it be? Picking up another text book, she began to read about the different properties if advanced Transfiguration. The hours flew by without her noticing them, and so she was startled when Madam Pomfrey dropped off her lunch tray.
"It's a quiet day today, Madam Pomfrey, isn't it?"
"Yes, unusually so. It's nice, though, don't get me wrong."
"Why?"
"Our guest can get better settled in this way," Poppy responded. "Now, eat up. I'll be back for the tray in an hour or so. Then we can work on your therapy. Seeing as it's a Hogsmeade weekend, your friends won't be back until later, anyway."
Hermione grimaced at the thought of trying to walk. She knew it would hurt, but it had to be done. There was no way she was going to spend the rest of her life lying in bed. "Yes, ma'am, I'll see you in an hour."
Poppy smiled at her young charge, and then turned and left to attend to her other resident. Hermione watched her leave before beginning to eat the meal she'd brought. After finishing it, she set aside the tray and began to work on her Transfiguration essay. The time spent on that passed quickly, and Hermione never noticed Poppy return to her room, until she heard the discreet cough. Looking up from the parchment, she saw the nurse standing at her bedside waiting for her to finish. She put down her quill and set the parchment on her bedside table along with the text book.
"Are you ready to continue with your therapy?" she asked gently.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Hermione responded as she threw back the sheet and turned to let her feet dangle off the side of the bed. Poppy came up beside her, and Hermione put her arm around the slight shoulder for support as she pushed off the bed to stand on the floor. Almost at once, her legs cramped up and she fell heavily to the floor. "Ow! Damn!" she cried out.
Gently, Poppy massaged her calves, easing the cramps. Then once more, she helped the young woman to her feet. This time, her muscles didn't cramp up, and leaning heavily on Poppy, she managed to take a few halting steps. Suddenly, Poppy was no longer supporting her weight, and Hermione wobbled for a it, finally regaining her balance. Cautiously, she took a step towards the nurse, then another, smiling as she did so. Her legs were not as happy about their use as she was, and once more they cramped up. Falling to her knees, Hermione cursed lowly before bursting into tears. Poppy tried to help her up, but her body wouldn't cooperate with her this time. As she stared at the floor, her legs in agony, she heard someone else enter the room. The person moved to her other side and helped Poppy lift her and get her back in bed.
Looking up from her hands to see who her rescuer was, she found herself staring into a pair of startling blue eyes that she had last seen at St. Mungo's. "Gilderoy Lockhart, what are you doing here?" she whispered before passing out.
Gilderoy had heard the commotion from his room and had quickly come when he heard the crying coming from down the hall. Stepping into the room, he saw Poppy struggling to lift a young woman. He moved to the other side of the girl and together, he and Poppy managed to get her into her bed. He'd been startled when she'd called him by name before fainting. Turning to face Poppy, he asked, "How does she know me?"
"She was one of your students a few years ago when you taught here," she answered. "Now, you need to go back to your room, as she needs her rest."
"But there's nothing to do, Poppy. I must confess, I'm a trifle bored."
""Then take this book and read it. I'm certain Miss Granger won't mind you reading it as long as you bring it back." Poppy handed him the thin book of sonnets, and then shooed him down to his room. He sat in the chair by the window and began to read. Soon, he was caught up in the words of poetry that touched him deeply with their beauty.