So sorry it took so long to get this update out. I've had it planned since I started doing the sequel, but just didn't have time to actually write it out. As we speak, it's 2 in the morning and I've now been up for 22 hours, so I apologize for any mistakes. Please enjoy, as this story, as well as Lost to Memory are my favorite stories that I have done to date. xoxo Crysta
Awakening Memories
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
~ Nelson Henderson
Chapter 2
It was a quiet afternoon in Wiltshire. The rain pounded steadily against the land, creating a doleful pall over the area. The wet afternoon kept in several of the muggle tourists who had come to visit the neolithic structures at Stonehenge and Avebury. But, in a secluded area of the county lay ruins that were anything but tame.
A witch or wizard would be able to see past the illusion and know the ruins for what they really were. Surrounded by a massive set of iron wrought gates lay a stately three winged manor house that was the ancestral seat of the Malfoy family.
If one was lucky enough to be granted access through the imposing wards they would find a gravel path before their feet and gardens surrounding them that were meticulously kept. In days past, it wouldn't have been unusual to see flocks of peacocks strutting around the manicured lawns, but those days had gone. The birds had been let go a few years ago. Rumor had it that the elder Malfoy couldn't stand to keep them in captivity any longer.
Before the great mahogany doors of the estate lay a laughing fountain in the center of what in the muggle world would have been an impressive circular drive.
Ron Weasley didn't know why, but today the fountain seemed sad. The water pouring from the top like great tears and he could totally relate. He didn't want to be here today. If his purpose here was for any other reason, it would have been tolerable, but today, the trip up the drive wore him down.
With each step that he had taken, his feet had seemed to get heavier and the pain in his chest multiplying ten fold.
He hadn't minded the trips that he made to the Malfoy home on most occasions. If the roles were reversed, he knew that he would appreciate the same courtesies being extended to him. He would want to know how life was for her, if she was happy, pretty much any detail that could be spared him.
Hermione had a way of doing that to you.
His wife was an amazing woman, too amazing, he had to admit. She was good, honest, trusting and entirely too good for him. She put up with his hectic work schedule without complaint. She was a gracious hostess when the occasion called for it. She was his support, his best friend, his life.
It had been difficult for him in the beginning, knowing about her life and not sharing it with her. When she had her accident and they had been told of the extent of her memory loss, he was ashamed to admit that he was somewhat happy. He was pleased that she didn't know about the war and the tragedies that everyone had suffered. He was happy that she didn't remember what a prat he had been at times in their friendship. But mostly, he was thrilled with the knowledge that Lucius Malfoy might no longer be a part of her life.
Ron had feared for a moment that Malfoy Sr. might stake his claim to her and show her the memories of their life together and that he would lose her. If he had been in Malfoy's position, he knew that he would have done so. Instead, he was surprised when the man had decided to give her up.
He would never forget the look on Malfoy's face when he had been told that Hermione had lost her memories, it was the only time he had seen the once enemy of his family falter. Malfoy had taken his hand to his chest as if he had been stabbed and fallen back against the hospital wall, his aristocratic features contorted in pain. He had missed the rest of the conversation between the healer and Malfoy.
Only moments later, Lucius Malfoy was completely composed. He had walked into Hermione's room, his eyes falling on the woman they both loved, his gray depths awash with anguish although he carried himself as he always had.
They had cleared out of the room to give the couple privacy and he had thought that his chances were gone.
A few minutes later Malfoy came out of the room and told all of them of his decision, because in reality, they all knew that any decision about Hermione would be his. It was no secret of their romance, but it shocked them all when he gave her up without a fight.
He told them to make no mention of him. She didn't remember any of them and he didn't want her to carry the stain of being associated with his family and their rather violent past.
Ron had almost shouted for joy, but when he saw the grieved expression on not only Lucius' face, but Draco's as well, his joy turned somber and his feelings turned more towards sympathy.
On the day of their wedding, Ron decided that he would keep the Malfoy's updated on Hermione. He would spare no details from them. Anything Lucius, and even Draco, wanted to know, he would tell them. He could do no less than that for the man that had given him a future with Hermione.
He knew that he didn't come out as often as Malfoy would like, maybe once every month or so and if work detained him for longer, he would send an owl. He would have wanted that if it were him.
When he reached the door, a small elf, Topsy, he thought her name was, opened the door and welcomed him to the home.
As they walked across the richly carpeted foyer that was lined with gilt mirrors and old paintings, his heart lurched in his chest. This feeling must be similar to what Lucius had felt years ago. It felt like his chest was collapsing as a hand reached in and squeezed his heart in an iron grip.
"Master is out to Gringotts at the moment, but master Draco will join you here momentarily." The elf said quietly before disappearing with a crack.
The room he had been shown to was nice. Not quite his taste as it was quite feminine. The walls were a pale blue silk damask with matching spindly sofa's in a pale shade of crème. There was a dainty writing desk in the corner that looked inviting as if it was ready for it's mistress to come home and sit, sipping her tea as she wrote out maybe a dinner menu or a reply to an invitation.
It struck him, at that moment, that if circumstances had been different, Hermione would have been the woman gracing the room. The empty bookshelves would have been filled with some of her more pleasant, visually appealing tomes. The silver gilt mirror that hung above the fireplace would have reflected her image, possibly on a daily basis.
If things would have turned out differently then, he wondered if he would feel this way now.
"I'm sorry my father couldn't be here." Draco Malfoy said, walking into the room, touching nothing but his eyes taking in the atmosphere with a certain reverence. "Is everything alright with Hermione?" He inquired, gesturing with his hand for Ron to sit on the sofa across from him.
It didn't escape his notice that Draco flinched slightly as they both sat down.
Draco being genuinely concerned for Hermione's welfare had been a surprise to him. He had thought, above anyone, that Draco Malfoy would gloat at his wife's injuries, but he surprised them all.
On one afternoon at one of their little update sessions, Ron had plucked up the courage to ask the ferret why he cared. Lucius had stormed out of the room only minutes earlier, as was his want. After hearing of Hermione, Malfoy tended to leave the room for almost near an hour. When Lucius came back, the aroma of whiskey followed him and his clothes were quite rumples and his knuckle bleeding slightly through a monogram handkerchief.
Draco had watched the man leave and answered his question easily.
"How could I not be concerned for her? She was and still is my father's entire life. She means everything to him. How could she not, in turn, mean everything to me?"
Since then, Ron had made it a point to be less rude and more pleasant during their meetings.
"Is she ill?" Draco asked, his voice taking on a note of panic that ripped him from his thoughts.
"No, umm, no she isn't ill." Ron replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortably warm. He loosed his tie and slid the top button out of his collar. "Have you got some Ogden's around here?" He asked, stumbling over his words.
The elf promptly bought a bottle and two glasses. Draco poured a couple of fingers more than usual into the tumblers and Ron drank it down greedily.
"I'm going to floo call the bank. I think Father needs to be here as soon as possible." Draco said, his pale brows creasing as he looked him over. "Are you sure there isn't something wrong with you?" He asked in a condescending tone that Ron normally would have taken offense to.
He would have loved to answer the question, but going by the way his hand shook as he lifted the glass to his mouth, he knew that he couldn't trust his voice just quite yet.
Ron was suffocating and he knew that his life as of now was going to change. He was terrified, he was hurting. He was resolved to do the right thing.
Malfoy Sr. strode into the room not even three minutes later, his hair flying and the fragile doors crashing into the wall.
Ron watched Draco's wince as he watched the left door make a dent in the wall. Lucius must have noticed too as before he even greeted him, he had that snake handled wand out ready to repair the damage.
"I've got it." Draco stepped over, his wand moving in intricate swirls until the damage was repaired.
Lucius' eyes were wild as he threw his traveling robes to the floor and tugged his leather gloves off roughly.
Again, Draco seemed disturbed with Lucius' seemingly disrespect of the room. It almost seemed mad to him, but he guessed that he might be the same way in their position.
"You tell me right now what's wrong with her." Lucius demanded in that cold voice that had always slightly terrified Ron.
Taking a last sip of dutch courage, he was ready.
"She is..." his voice failed him.
Malfoy's face was panicked. His eyes seemed to bore into him, as if all the answers would be written there.
He took a deep breath as images of his life with his wife flashed before him. Her beaming face as he placed the engagement ring he had been saving up for on her finger. Her hair tumbling down her back as he happened to catch her in her slip. Her twinkling laughter as they danced to their first song as husband and wife. The last image though, was the one he couldn't get out of his mind. Her amber eyes glossed over in confusion as she looked at him.
With that image in his mind, he was ready to make his sacrifice, just as the man who sat across from him had done. He was going to right the lie that he had taken advantage of all those years ago. It was going to kill him, in fact, he felt like he was dying right now as he struggled to get the words out.
"She remembers you." He finally got out.
He expected to see joy, elation, almost any of the happy emotions cross Malfoy's face, but not one did and he knew why. Lucius Malfoy was afraid to hope.
"The healers..." Malfoy said, uncertainly.
"She hasn't seen the healer."
"Why not? I entrusted her care to you. You swore an oath that she would always have the best care. I would have paid for the best healers..." Malfoy left off, his mouth setting into a thin line. "Why has nothing been done?"
"Because," he gathered his thoughts as identical sets of arctic eyes settled on him. "Because she doesn't remember everything. Hermione confided in my sister that she was seeing a therapist. I contacted the doctor and explained the situation to her."
"Hermione is having flashbacks of you." He finally finished, even though he didn't want to.
"She is truly remembering?" Draco asked, astounded and hesitant.
"She is." Ron affirmed, wishing he hadn't noticed the deep sigh that both Malfoy's let out at the news. "She doesn't remember the exact details, but her therapist seems to believe that this is just the beginning."
He searched in his pocket and pulled out the business card that the secretary had given him. He handed it over to Lucius, whose palm curled around the card as if it was his lifeline. "Her name is Claire Randall and she seems quite knowledgeable. She approaches her cases with a blend of wizarding and muggle teachings. She said that she would be available by owl if at anytime you want to reach her."
He watched Malfoy turn the card over in his hands as he stared at it. He couldn't imagine what the man was feeling. It still amazed Ron at times that he even had feelings, but he knew that if Hermione had once loved him, then Lucius must have had feelings in abundance. At least towards Hermione, that is.
"She's going to get her memories back." He said, trying to ease some of the tension that lined Malfoy's eyes.
The head of the Malfoy family sat the card down on the table and walked over to stand in front of the bright bay window. His hand caressing a silk pillow that was lain haphazardly across the window seat.
"Why would you tell me this?" Lucius asked after an eternity. "Surely this is difficult for you."
Ron swallowed harshly brought his hand up to rub at his forehead. The diamonds in his wedding band still managing to catch the light even on this dreary day in Wiltshire.
"Because it's time that I repay the favor that you gave to me." He bit out. "You once said and at the time, I didn't believe you. But, you told me that there was nothing that you wouldn't give for her happiness and you did. You were a better man than I was."
"At our wedding I was naïve. I told you that I could imagine what it was like for you to live without her." Ron admitted, the terrible pressure in his chest growing. "I understand what that is like now and I would never be able to hold her back when the time comes. I don't want her to ever feel the pain of being separated from the one that she loves. I couldn't live knowing that her life is just waiting for her and that I'm the only thing keeping her from it."
"How can you bear it?" Draco asked. "How can you stand to let her go?"
Ron started to speak up, but Lucius spoke for him, his voice deep but somehow reassuring as Ron struggled for the words to explain it. Lucius knew the answer better than him as he had lived through it.
"You endure it because you fear, that in the end, the decision will be taken out of your hands. And it will. There is no guarantee and you have no control over the outcome. It all rests with her."
With a raw throat and a headache forming between his eyes, Ron made his final trip out of the manor. The temperature had lowered and the steady falling rain had know turned into snow.
He pulled his wool coat closer to his body and tightened his scarf. As he reached the gates, he blew onto his hands, even though the warm breath didn't seem to do anything to numb the coldness that he was feeling inside.
He took one last look at the grounds and the stately home. He was sure that the next time he visited, the elegant house would once again be alive with warmth and a mistress that would fill the halls with her twinkling laughter and dancing eyes. Her once carefree smile would return and she would complete the family within those walls.
Lucius had been right, he thought as he stepped outside the gates. He would endure the pain but not because he was afraid of rejection. He would endure because he knew, without a doubt, that once Hermione regained her memories, she would want to choose Lucius. He wouldn't stand in her way. Too many sacrifices had been made already and at heart, all he wanted to see was her happiness.
With snow falling lightly around him and dusting the shoulders of his coat, he closed his eyes and finally disapparated.
Please let me know what you think... Lucius loves reviews. It makes him feel naughty, therefore he gives me more plot bunnies (as well as a massive jump in blood pressure). Goodness, no fictional character should be this hot.