Author's Note: Here is the third chapter ready for your viewing! Just a word of caution, things take a while to unfold. Don't expect Dramione to happen instantly, because half the story is how they get there! But on a different note, this chapter offers a peek at Hermione's forgotten life, which I think you'll find interesting.
The Missing Piece Chapter Three
Day: 07
Two carriages had arrived that afternoon with all of Hermione's belongings. Two house elves moved the furniture to the precise place Hermione had them before, by simply snapping their fingers. Hermione had urged them to allow her to help, but they vehemently denied, claiming, "We're very thankful, we are, Mistress Granger, ma'am, but this our job, please!" So Hermione attempted to offer them some food after they were done, in order to repay them, but they did not take that offer either. By evening, however, Hermione regarded her flat with a smile, glad that her furniture was back, and relieved to find it hadn't changed since she last remembered. She tried to forget she couldn't remember, in an attempt to start her life fresh, but things just kept creeping up on her. Like how she actually dated Draco Malfoy. Or how the hand print was still there, upon the baby blue walls. Then her mind would spiral into thinking of all the memories and moments she had lost, and the knot in her throat would return.
She sat on her leather sofa, staring hopelessly at the books that lay on her shelves in front of her, when she heard the familiar sound of an owl, scratching on the window of her kitchen. Curious, she stood, and walked toward the noise, finding a large eagle owl outside, a note tied to its leg… and a newspaper clipping. She opened the window, and untied the note from the owl. Once the note was in her hands, the owl hooted happily, and flew away. She had no idea who the owl belonged to, but she watched it fly away into the horizon, and only when it was nothing but a small dot in the sky, did she turn to her mail. There was a newspaper clipping, from September 20th, 1999. Hermione drew in a breath as she realized this was so close to the last thing she remembered: Her birthday. Her eyes scanned the rest of the short newspaper clipping.
The Ministry of Magic is proud to announce that the famous war heroine, Hermione J. Granger, will be working at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt says, "Miss Granger is a brilliant young woman… We expect great things from her while she is here." Miss Hermione Granger has told the Daily Prophet she intends to restore prosperity to the Wizarding World, and will work hard to meet the needs of the magical population.
Hermione released her breath, holding the newspaper clipping as if it were some ancient treasure that held the world's secrets, due to break at any moment. Department of Magical Law Enforcement… This was her dream. Joy filled her every thought, delighted by this huge accomplishment, but it was stomped out of her once she realized she could not and would never, remember this. She put the newspaper clipping down on her wooden dining table, and turned her attention to the piece of parchment attached to it, hoping to find the identity of the sender.
Here's a clipping from the Prophet, when the Ministry first hired you for your job. You were only eighteen, the youngest person to ever work at the Ministry, especially fresh out of Hogwarts. Needless to say, you did an amazing job reshaping the way Law Enforcement worked. I hope my elves put everything back in order for you, and I hope you're comfortable.
I know you may have given up on recovering your memories, but I have not.
There was no signature, but Hermione had no problem figuring out who it was. The last line of the letter rang out inside her mind, filling her with a mixture of feelings even she could not describe. I know you may have given up on recovering your memories, but I have not. Hermione didn't know whether to feel angry or appreciative, because she did want to know what had happened in the past two years, but she had the nagging feeling this was all part of Draco Malfoy's master plan to make her fall for him again. She snorted to herself. How did she ever end up with him? The last time she ever remembered seeing him was after the Final Battle of Hogwarts, in the Great Hall with his parents. How did he put aside his prejudices for her? Hermione remembered the tender look he had given her the first time he walked into her flat, and the crushed face he wore when she practically told him they were over. Could they have both had something? Something… meaningful? Hermione placed the note besides the newspaper clipping, thinking it was a waste of her time and energy to focus on her supposed relationship with Malfoy, when she would never remember it. She should move forward, and leave her forgotten past behind. That was her final decision.
Hermione heard the pop of apparition and a knock on her door two seconds later. She sighed heavily in order to clear her thoughts and rid herself of lingering sadness, and placed a cheerful expression on her face when she opened the door.
"Ron! Harry!" Hermione didn't need to force a cheerful expression any longer. She hugged Ron Weasley tightly; she couldn't remember the last time she actually saw him.
"Hermione, how are you?" He asked her, returning her hug which lifted her feet off the ground.
"Fine, come in!" she said, breaking away from her best friend with a smile. Harry looked positively gleeful as both men stepped into her flat, looking around to her newly furnished home.
"Moved back in, huh?" Ron observed, sitting on the leather sofa. "Got any food?"
Hermione chuckled, feeling like she had never lost her memories in the first place. She jokingly rolled her eyes and ventured into the kitchen, scanning her cabinets for something to eat.
"So what brings you guys here?" Hermione asked, while returning with a plate of cauldron cakes. Apparently the house elves stocked her house with food as well, because she didn't remember buying them at all. Harry and Ron dug right in, and the hungry animalistic look on Ron's face as he devoured his cake made Hermione forget about how the mysterious food showed up.
" 'Um 'an'ed 'oo know if oo'd 'ome 'ovuh for 'inner." Pieces of cauldron cake spat out of Ron's mouth as he replied and Hermione gave him a disapproving, yet lovable look.
"He said, 'Mum wanted to know if you'd come over for dinner'" Harry translated. Over the years, Harry had become a master in translating Ron's words while speaking with a mouth full of food. Hermione was unsure. She wanted to see the Weasleys, but didn't know what to expect… she didn't want to be treated like Healer Greene treated her the previous day. But she reluctantly accepted, because she knew how anxious they probably were about her situation, and probably wanted to see if she was doing okay.
" Great. " Ron articulated, having swallowed the cake fully now. " Dinner starts at six. We still live at the Burrow. Can you apparate?" Ron got up, stuffing two cauldron cakes in his pocket.
"I think so, yes." She replied. She felt a bit taken aback that the dinner was today, and in two hours, no less. She wanted time to prepare herself mentally for this, and not getting that time made her feel a bit flustered.
"All right, see you then Hermione," Ron said, heading for the door. Harry followed. Hermione suddenly remembered something she needed to ask Harry.
"Oh, Harry, do you happen to know where my wand is?"
"I think Malfoy has it. I'll ask him for it." Harry said simply. Hermione nodded, feeling frustrated at the fact that Malfoy seemed to have all her possessions. Hermione couldn't help feeling that what they had must have been pretty serious if she had moved her furniture there, and he had her wand.
Hermione nodded, and said a temporary goodbye to her two best friends, and turned to her flat, frantic thoughts about dinner and Malfoy zooming through her head.
V^V^V^V^V
"Mum, pass the potatoes."
"Lovely dinner, Molly dear, as always."
"Why thank you Arthur, would anyone like some more gravy? Fred? George? Hermione?"
Hermione politely shook her head. It was the usual Weasley dinner: Everyone was gathered around the table, chatting lively and eating delicious food, filling the plates with as much food as one could eat. Hermione felt comfortable, because she remembered countless Weasley dinners over the summer during her time at Hogwarts, and nothing had changed except the topics of conversation. Yet she felt odd somehow, knowing that there was two years' worth of dinners that she did not remember, and they did. She just felt out of place, despite everyone's obvious attempts to make her feel included. She listened to the conversations more than she took part in them, searching for information about the last couple years. Hermione did appreciate however, that none of the Weasleys talked about the incident, or asked her how it happened or what it was like not to remember past events. This whole situation reminded her of something that happened when she was about eight years old, when she joined her friends at the lunch table the day after a huge row. The eight year old Hermione had felt out of place, and distant, very close to how she felt at the present moment. After dinner everyone went to do their own business, and Hermione followed Ginny, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George into the living room. It was still as Hermione had remembered it: cluttered, yet cozy. She sat down on the small love seat, and watched Fred and George as they talked about a new exciting addition to their store, Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
"We've invented Weasley Parchment," George told the room, in a very mischievous tone.
"It's this special type of parchment that allows you to write in anything, and your message will appear on another person's parchment." Fred explained once he saw everyone's confused expressions.
"But the other person has to have Weasley Parchment." George added.
"Yeah, now you can all write notes to each other in class, without the hassle of getting caught! " Fred finished, with a wide grin. There was a collective shake of the head from everyone in the room. Hermione didn't like the idea, but couldn't help grinning. The twins just never changed, did they? Hermione felt someone poke her arm, and she turned to face them. Ginny had elbowed her playfully and was eyeing her with a tender expression.
"Hey," She whispered, "Are you okay? I know the other day took you by surprise… "
"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry Ginny. It was just a bit overwhelming, you know?" Hermione replied honestly. She felt she was coping with her situation a lot better than she had anticipated, and this made her feel more at ease. She made a huge effort to come to the Weasley dinner, feeling it would be too much for her, but Hermione was glad it was manageable. The Weasleys had a knack for making one feel at home. "Mind telling me about my life?" She asked awkwardly. It wasn't everyday someone else told you what your life was like, what you did, and how you came to be. Ginny smiled, and nodded.
"Well, sometime after your eighteenth birthday you acquired a job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic," Ginny began, still whispering so as to not interrupt surrounding conversations. "You did a lot of things… let's see. You eradicated some unjust pureblooded laws and made laws to protect house elves. Sometimes you worked closely with Harry, who works at the Auror Department, on some cases. That's how you acquainted yourself with Draco Malfoy. He was on your team at the time, working on some Death Eater case."
"You guys argued all the time." Harry cut in. Hermione blushed, slightly embarrassed that she had feelings for Malfoy at some point in her life, regardless whether she could remember it or not. "Sometimes it got in the way of the case, though I remember you tried your hardest to be civil during work."
"Yeah he was a git, upset at the fact that daddy's boy actually had to work like everyone else." Ron added distastefully. By now, everyone had paused their conversations, and was joining hers in order to give their input on Malfoy, making Hermione a little more uncomfortable.
"Yeah but Hermione fancied him regardless." Fred cut in, in mock-taunt.
"Yeah, after that huge fight." Ginny added with a grin. There was a unanimous groan from everyone in the room, and Hermione felt like that one person at gatherings that was not present at a hilarious, and memorable moment.
"Yeah Hermione, props for that one." Ron said. "She just about had enough of him. I remember she came here, and was all upset, and crying afterwards." Everyone nodded, remembering a moment Hermione had no knowledge of.
"What happened?" She said, blushing. She crossed her right leg over her left out of nervous habit.
"Well, you exploded, that's what happened." Harry informed her. "I remember we were at a meeting, and he whispered something to you… Well you turned red, and you stood up in front of everyone, and basically told him to sod off. But you did so more eloquently. I remember you screaming at him about his blood prejudice, and his snobby attitude. He just got up and left. We were all shocked beyond belief."
"Yeah but Hermione fancied him regardless." Fred repeated. The whole room laughed, including Hermione, who felt slightly relieved she at least told Malfoy all those things.
"Yeah well I suppose you guys made amends afterwards, because a month later you both began to date. That was February of 2000. Then in June you moved into his house." Ginny said in an 'It's-your-life-don't-blame-me' voice. Hermione uncrossed her legs, and crossed them in the other direction.
"Yeah, you guys were crazy for each other. You could just see it." Harry added almost nostalgically.
"Wouldn't leave each other's side if either of you could help it." Ron mentioned. Hermione looked at her shoes. Had she really felt that way about someone? She felt a wave of sadness, because she could not remember, but it quickly went away once she reminded herself that it was Malfoy. To stop herself from thinking of him, she scrambled through her mind for another question.
"So... how did I- how was I obliviated?"
Once the question was out of her mouth and in the open, it was as if a huge boulder was lifted from her chest. Hermione looked around, and saw her friend's awkward faces, as they tried to figure out how they were going to break the news to her.
"You were working on a case with Malfoy and the Auror department. You were on the field, fighting alongside us and... a death eater just obliviated you. We don't know why, or who. That's still under investigation." Harry said curtly. Hermione gathered that he didn't know much about how it had happened, and the snappiness in his tone dictated he did not want to talk about it any longer. From then on, Hermione decided it was best to keep her mouth closed and move to a better topic. The conversation died down after that, and after a delicious dessert from Molly Weasley, Hermione prepared herself to return home, and get her thoughts in order.
"Come back anytime, Hermione dear." Molly told her fondly, as she led her to the door.
"I will, thank you for everything Molly." Hermione replied, opening the door, and stepping out into the cool September breeze. After she had said her goodbyes, Hermione walked to the apparition point several yards from the house, and thought of her own flat, warm, inviting, and blissfully peaceful.