Lost

Hermione always knew when she was dreaming.

This time, she knew it was a dream because when she'd bought her first wand with her parents, the window of the shop hadn't sparkled in the sunlight, and there hadn't been neat IKEA-style shelves lining the walls. And it hadn't been Genevieve to come and greet them, but Ollivander, emerging like a pale spectre from the murky interior of his shop.

But now Genevieve welcomed them, before she shook the hand of the little girl next to Hermione.

"Perdita Granger, come to pick out your first wand." The wandmaker smiled. "Trading places with your sister, are you? You come to join the wizarding world and she leaves it."

The girl, tanned, freckled, with straight brown hair and strange amber eyes, shook her head. "But we're not," Perdita said. "My parents have forgotten all about her. For us, she has never existed at all."

Hermione met her parents' eyes. Confusion mingled with suspicion. Her mother pulled Perdita closer.

"I thought you named her Cordelia," Hermione murmured and raised her wand to cast Obliviate.

When her lips rounded to form the first syllable of the spell, her wand and her hand exploded in a burst of fire and agony.

oooOooo

"Stop." Mugwort stepped in front of him. "If you think I'll allow you to see Hermione in that state, then you're sorely mistaken."

"Get out of my way," Severus snarled.

The witch didn't even blink. When he attempted to shove past her, she grabbed his arms and pushed him against the wall. "Severus, you're whiter than that wall and you're shaking. Hermione needs you, but not like that."

She pressed a vial of Calming Draught into his palm. "Drink," Mugwort urged. "You need it."

His eyes strayed to the closed door at the end of the corridor.

"She will recover," the healer promised.

Severus sagged against the wall. Closing his eyes, he exhaled a choked sigh. When he looked at Mugwort again, the healer shook her head and pointed at his hand. He scowled.

"Potion first, explanations later," she reminded him sternly.

"Healers, harridans and harpies," he muttered and downed the potion with one gulp. At once warmth and calmness spread through his body. Suddenly he could breathe again. He sighed again, deeper this time. "All right. – Muriel, what happened? I was only told that there was an accident at Ollivander's. What has that to do with Hermione?"

"Everything, I'm afraid," Mugwort said. "Hermione accompanied Minerva to Diagon Alley today. She wanted to get new wands."

"What happened?" Tendrils of cold dread drifted through the potion-induced cosiness that enveloped him.

"The wand exploded in her hand."

"What?!" His stomach dropped. "How serious are her injuries?"

"Her right palm was burnt badly. She has suffered multiple cuts and lacerations. One splinter was embedded in her left eye. However, the shock is worse than the injuries." Mugwort laid a hand on his arm. "Though I must warn you – the injuries do look bad. Her body doesn't react well to magic right now. We had to use acupuncture to draw off most of her magic so we could fix her eye. She will heal almost like a Muggle now. Severus, I am telling you that not to scare you, just to prepare you."

"I –" When he looked down at the squat woman who returned his menacing gaze so calmly, he found he couldn't lie to her.

But neither could he admit to the pure panic barely alleviated by the Calming Draught.

"I know," the healer murmured and patted his arm. "Now go to her."

oooOooo

Hermione lay huddled on her side and slept, a wisp of a woman, her brown curls a matted mess. He stepped to her side and stood, staring down at her.

Her face, her neck, shoulders and what he could see of her breasts were covered in small, ragged cuts. She lay curled around her right hand. Although it was thickly bandaged and smelt of healing salve, it had to be hurting. Her whole body was tense and strained.

Stupid, stubborn Gryffindor.

It wasn't like her, to rush in blind. How desperate she must be. Rage flared up in the pit of his stomach, rushing red and hot through his veins. Mister Sean Cúchulainn Ferguson would regret the day he was born.

Hermione started thrashing in her sleep, tossing her head from side to side, nearly dislocating the black patch that covered her left eye. A mangled, mewling sound emerged from her lips. Carefully, he laid down his hand on her shoulder. Her right eye snapped open. For a moment she stared, unfocused, caught between the nightmare and the horror of her days. Then she gasped, relief washing over her and leaving her limp as a rag.

"Sev'rus," she mumbled. "You came!"

"Of course," he said softly as he stroked back a curly tendril of sweat-soaked hair. "You foolish, foolish, foolish woman. Whatever possessed you to pull such an idiotic stunt? Whatever were you thinking to run off on such a hare-brained mission? Were you thinking at all?"

"I was thinking that I must get over this stupid Muggle trauma and this idiotic guilt complex of mine, and that I must get my magic back," she replied. "Or –"

She pressed her lips together and turned her head away.

"You are only stupid and idiotic when you spout such irrational insipience," Severus scathed. Then he carefully took her left hand. Noticing how loose her wedding ring felt around her finger, he admonished her, "You really need to eat more."

"Hermione, magic doesn't work that way," he went on to chide her gently. "Magic won't follow your whims or obey so-called laws of nature. That's why it is called magic. It follows its own rules."

Hermione closed her one good eye. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything. Attuned to Alina's silent speech, Severus frowned. Perdita?

"You are not lost, Hermione."

She shook her head. "Just take me ho– take me to Hogwarts, okay?"

oooOooo

A/N: In Apprentice 'verse, the memory charm Hermione performed on her parents interfered with a secret protective charm the Ministry had placed on them. A bad combination of magic, with the side-effect that Hermione's parents will never regain their memories. After that became clear, Hermione continued to receive reports about her parents' well-being from the Auror Office for a while. But when her parents adopted a little girl and called her "Cordelia Perdita", Hermione cancelled that subscription.

Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome: if something made you frown or smile, or if there's a line that you really enjoyed ... feel free to drop me a line and let me know.