Author's Note: Loved the reviews, so I decided to update! Glad you're all enjoying it so far, and I hope you like this next chapter! A lot more action coming in the next chapters, trust me!
The Missing Piece Chapter Twenty
Day: 45
"I thought you were going to be over at Draco's?" Ginny questioned Hermione as soon as Hermione had entered the burrow through the fireplace.
"I was, but he's having his library investigated after what happened yesterday." Hermione replied nonchalantly.
"Oh right… Don't worry. They'll find the culprit soon, Hermione." Ginny told her best friend, eyeing the stress behind Hermione's otherwise cool expression.
Ginny walked over to her couch and sat down, patting the spot besides her signaling for Hermione to sit down as well. There was a plate with cauldron cakes that Molly Weasley had probably made, and Hermione picked one and began chewing hungrily.
Draco Malfoy was occupying her mind a lot recently, especially as she swallowed a piece of her cauldron cake. The more Hermione remained silent, the more she thought about the grey eyed blonde. She didn't deny that she wasn't attracted to him, but she was afraid that she loved Draco for all the wrong reasons. Did the reasons even matter, so long as you loved the person?
"Spill what's on your mind, Hermione." Ginny stated knowingly. It hardly surprised the bushy haired witch that Ginny knew her so well. Hermione knew better than to stay silent. Ginny would keep pushing, and her thoughts wouldn't let her live in peace as well. There was just no winning.
"Oh, Gin, I just don't even know where to begin. I am so confused. Draco is helping me through so much, and he has changed… I do like him. But I am afraid of falling for him for all the wrong reasons. What if I like the Draco in the memories, and not the Draco I know now? What if I can't tell the difference, and think that I like him, but in reality, I don't? And the reason why I am dwelling so much on that is that I can easily fall in love with him. I'm trying not to let myself get too carried away in all of this, because if I do… and if I'm wrong, then I don't think I can get out, Ginny." Hermione took a sharp inhale to regain her breath back. It felt relaxing to expel all her doubts into the open. Especially to Ginny, who understood Hermione better than anyone else she knew.
"Hermione you already fell in love with him once for who he was. Why would this time be any different?"
"I don't know him… how we functioned. It just isn't the same." Hermione reasoned, twiddling her fingers anxiously. All the answers always came easily to her, except for the ones she needed right now. Ginny scooted closer to Hermione, placing a warm hand over Hermione's anxious fingers in order to gain her friend's attention.
"Hermione, you know him. Your memory is in there somewhere. And I think Draco knows that as well, because it doesn't look like he's giving up on you. Hermione just roll with your feelings. Run with them. Fall as hard as you can for that man, because I know him well enough now to know he isn't going to let you down." Ginny spoke once Hermione had given Ginny her attention.
"I'm not worried about Draco, I'm worried about myself." Hermione confided, finishing her cauldron cake, and cleaning the crumbs off her hands with her muggle jeans.
"Well don't!" Ginny replied, giggling a bit. Hermione gave her a look, and Ginny opened her mouth to explain herself. "You worry too much." The red head said simply.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh, suddenly wishing to change the subject.
"So how's your family been? Haven't been over for dinner in ages."
The small distraction worked. Ginny's eyes knitted in concentration as she told Hermione the latest on the Weasleys. Hermione did not overlook the fact that Ginny hadn't mentioned how Ron was after she had finished, and became a bit uneasy. She cared about Ron, even with everything that had happened in the recent days. But when Hermione brought him up, Ginny became suddenly overcome with hunger and stuffed a cauldron cake into her mouth.
"Oh come on, Gin. Out with it." Hermione said jokingly, seeing through Ginny's failed attempt.
"I don't even know what's wrong with that git, he's just been in a foul mood for days, and gives no one any explanation whatsoever. He's been moody, and a complete idiot and whenever mom tries to reason with him he lashes out and leaves for days."
Hermione's posture shrunk with the weight of the guilt that had just occupied her. It was a very Ron-like thing to do, shutting himself out from everyone. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but Hermione knew it was her fault this time. Hermione voiced this to Ginny, and Ginny's troubled facial expression cleared up as she made sense of what Hermione told her.
"You know," the red head said, voicing her thoughts, "When you and Draco began to go out, I remember Ron being secretly jealous. He had been in love with you since Hogwarts, you know. I suppose he's just angry that he still can't have you."
Hermione remained silent, in thought. She loved Ron, but as a friend. Nothing more. Her heart belonged to someone else now.
Ginny seemed to pick up on Hermione's thoughts because she added, " If you hadn't met Draco, would you have dated Ron?"
"I have no idea." Hermione replied after a few moments of silence. "Probably. It would have been what was natural."
Day: 46
Hermione jumped as she heard the crack of apparition right in front of her. Memory Malfoy appeared, taking a few staggering steps to regain his balance from the impact. He stood in one of the Ministry meeting halls, which were now filling up with other witches and wizards. By the looks of their bloody faces and torn robes, they had just apparated from a mission, and it wasn't a good one. Memory Malfoy's head whipped left, right, and left again as he looked for Memory Hermione. Several seconds later, there was a cracking sound, and Memory Hermione appeared several feet from where Memory Malfoy had appeared. Hermione thought Memory Hermione looked like she had just finished fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts. A sleeve of her robe was torn to pieces, the leg of her pants burned, and blood was trickling down her forehead. Memory Hermione's eyes found Memory Malfoy's within the thickening crowd, and her body immediately began to move toward him in a desperate hurry. Hermione saw tears forming in her eyes as she moved closer to her Slytherin protector. What was going on?
"It was a false trail, it was a trap! I should have known, I should have known, before leading everyone there I should have figured it out, Draco! I am so daft!" Memory Hermione said desperately, tears falling faster with each word she spoke.
"Stop, love. Stop. It wasn't your fault. Shhh." Memory Malfoy comforted, looking concerned as he wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Yes but this was my mission! I'm head of this department I can't make mistakes like this—"
Memory Malfoy placed his index finger to his girlfriend's lips.
"Come on, let's get you home, you need to relax, and I need to fix your wounds." Memory Malfoy said in a commanding voice.
"I can't just leave—"
Hermione felt a pull on her navel, and her chest felt constricted as she moved through the dark. She couldn't breathe, having been taken by surprise. When the darkness lifted, Hermione realized she was back in her own flat. She supposed that's what happened when the people in the memories apparated. She decided it wasn't a pleasant experience, and hoped they wouldn't do that again.
"Draco! What have you done?! I need to return!" Memory Hermione yelled, her face turning red with anger. She spun on her foot in an attempt to apparate, and Hermione held her breath in preparation.
"Draco Malfoy you lift this anti-apparition charm right now!" Hermione screamed angrily, jabbing her index finger in his chest with each syllable. Memory Malfoy did not move. He remained calm, as if the witch's yelling did not faze him.
"Love, you need to calm down first of all. This isn't your fault, everything is chaos there, and they won't notice you gone at all." Memory Malfoy took out his wand, and with a few muttering of words, he performed a healing spell, clearing Hermione's head injury.
"No, No. Draco, I need to fix this. They could find you, they could find Harry, or Ron, or any one of you I can't let them you need to let me go, let me go now!" Memory Hermione nearly pleaded, pushing against Memory Malfoy's chest. The male looked confused.
"Love, they're terrorizing everyone, not just those you love, calm down." Memory Malfoy replied, making his voice soothing and comforting. He eyed Hermione warily, as if thinking that perhaps she was hiding something, but he didn't see anything but fear in the witch's eyes.
Memory Hermione suddenly broke out in tears, obviously stressed by everything that was happening. She knelt down onto her wooden floors, sobbing loudly. Hermione was anxious as well, seeing herself like this and not knowing the reason as to why was not something she was used to. She wished she could reach out to herself, but no one in the memory could even see her. It was just that—a memory. Instead, Memory Draco knelt down beside Memory Hermione in order to calm her.
He placed two fingers under her chin, making Memory Hermione look into Memory Malfoy's eyes. He wiped her tears with his other hand, and slowly, Memory Hermione's sobs became quieter.
"Don't cry." Memory Malfoy spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper, his tone commanding. Memory Hermione sniffed, and looked into his silver eyes sadly, searching for something.
"I just—don't leave me. I don't want anything to happen to you, or my friends…" Memory Hermione trailed off, involuntarily hiccupping after almost every word.
Memory Malfoy looked concerned. His eyes looked into hers, digging for something that he couldn't find. His eyebrows knit together in confusion, clearly trying to decipher what Memory Hermione was talking about.
"Nothing will happen to me, love. Or anyone you know. I won't let it. I swear I will be here for you, every second, every day, for as long as I live. I love you. I will protect you, and try to keep you from harm in any way I can." Memory Malfoy spoke, his voice as soothing as silk. Hermione still could not comprehend why Memory Hermione was shaking her head, fresh tears now falling down her face. Hermione felt much like crying herself, after what Memory Malfoy had just said. Did he still feel that way?
"No what, love?" Memory Malfoy pleaded. "Tell me. No no, don't cry. Shhhh. Tell me."
Memory Hermione kept shaking her head, sniffing and whipping her tears as she did so. Hermione thought she looked quite child-like. If anyone else were viewing the memory with her, she would have felt embarrassed.
"I—I can't. No, it's nothing, I'm being silly, that's all." Memory Hermione replied weakly.
Memory Malfoy remained silent for a few seconds, and then grabbed both of Memory Hermione's hands and gave them a kiss. Memory Hermione freed her hands from his hold, and placed them both along his face, studying the feel of it beneath her fingers. With her hands she traced his eyebrows, eyelids, forehead, the length of his nose, cheekbones, lips, ears, hair, everything. Hermione knew the look in Memory Hermione's eyes. It was a look she wore when she was studying hard before an exam, or concentrating on something vitally important. And that's what Memory Hermione was doing now. Memorizing. But why? Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together, watching as Memory Hermione's hands went down to Memory Malfoy's neck, gliding over his adam's apple, and down to his strong shoulders.
Memory Malfoy's eyes were closed, in blissful peace. Only the twitch of the corners of his lips gave away the fact that he was confused by Memory Hermione's actions and previous words. After a few seconds Memory Malfoy's hands seemed to become animated, moving to Memory Hermione's face as well. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, simply doing nothing but feeling each other's presence, and acquainting themselves with each other's curves and valleys.
It was a very intimate event that Hermione was now a part of, and she couldn't help feeling like an intruder. Somehow, she felt very distant from the Hermione in the memory. Could she and Draco ever achieve that level of intimacy? She felt scared of the look in Memory Hermione's eyes as she studied her lover. In her eyes Hermione found a deep adoration for the man in front of Memory Hermione. Trust, safety, loyalty, infatuation lay beneath Memory Hermione's golden brown eyes as well. Hermione was sure she had never felt that way about anyone in her life ever, and that was a scary and uncomfortable thought, knowing she couldn't remember it.
"Everything I am, everything that makes me who I am, it's all yours." Memory Malfoy murmured into Memory Hermione's ear. Hermione had to almost strain to hear the words, but caught each of them clearly. Her heart pounded madly inside her chest at the comprehension of what Memory Malfoy was saying. His words were better than saying a simple "I love you."
"I own the essence of Draco." Memory Hermione chuckled lightly, clearly recovered from her episode enough to lighten the mood. "You shall own the essence of Hermione. If—if you want it." Memory Hermione blushed, looking down to her fingers that lay on her lap. Memory Malfoy smiled, his silver eyes glistening with emotion.
"Of course I want essence of Hermione." He laughed.
Memory Hermione looked up at Memory Malfoy through her thick eyelashes and leaned forward to plant a light kiss upon his lips.
"Good." She said simply, smiling.
With Draco, all her troubles seemed to be forgotten.
"Why are you showing me all this Malfoy?!" Were the first words that left Hermione's mouth in a torrent of confusion.
Malfoy stayed silent, looking up at her with a mixture of hope, and reproach.
"I mean, what is this trying to prove? I understand you want to show me how our relationship used to be, but how can that help me now? I can't remember Malfoy! I can't! And showing me this is just complicating my existence! I just—I just don't know which Malfoy I fell in love with!" Hermione felt relieved to discharge some of her stress at the moment, even if it was without thinking of what she was saying. She didn't care at that point, she just needed to say what was on her mind, so she took it, and ran with it.
"Because I know you're in there somewhere, Hermione. I know you remember. I know. I can feel it. Your heart, soul, and body remember me. It's your mind that doesn't. I still love you, and I am not giving up on you." Malfoy said in a solid tone, clearly unmoving in his opinion.
Hermione felt gratitude and comfort in his words, but not much. Her worry for not being able to remember Draco Malfoy the way he used to be washed over these emotions.
"I don't think you'll understand, Malfoy. I'll come back to you. I'm already back. But just in a different way. I don't share what you had with her." Hermione said, referring to Memory Hermione. She felt disconnected from the Hermione she couldn't remember. Perhaps the Healer was right, she had to start anew. She had to make new memories with Draco, not spend her life trying to remember what they had.
"You are her, Hermione. There is no difference! Please see that, and one day, it will come back to you. I promised you, and I will keep that promise."
"No, no Malfoy, it's not that simple—"
"Yes! Yes! Sometimes, things are that simple Hermione, not everything is as complicated as making potions, and being the head of a major department at the ministry! Sometimes, things are plain and simple. And right now, I know I love you. I know you love me, and we both know we want your memories back. Simple as that." Malfoy began to argue back, his voice rising, itching for Hermione to see his point of view.
Hermione wished it were that way, but she knew better. She was a realist, not someone who clung onto false hopes. Even though there was a part of her that wanted to believe Draco—and did, she tried to suppress that part of her in order for her not to get hurt.
"I know you're afraid. I know you don't want to get hurt. But take a leap of faith. Please." Malfoy said quietly after a few seconds.
Hermione stared at his face with a pained expression. Her heart said one thing, and her mind said another. She was stuck, in front of a fork in the road. And she didn't know where to turn. So she turned for the door, muttering a flimsy excuse.
"I need to think, and clear my head."
Malfoy didn't try to stop her. He knew she would come back. When you love someone, you had to let them run away so they could find their way back into your heart.
A/N: Yes? No? Leave a review please! I'll update next week if I get enough people who want it, how's that? Thanks for all your support so far!