When Harry and Ron stepped through the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place, they thought they'd walked completely into the wrong house. The walls were a brilliant white, with deep burgundy trim. The entire air of the house felt new and fresh, as though they hadn't stepped inside but rather out into an open field. They turned their heads up in amazement following the completely redone staircase that spiraled gorgeously all the way to the top.
"I love magic..." Harry blinked dumbly before coming in a bit further. All the old dark and dirty carpet was gone, leaving behind refurbished wooden floors with area rugs that looked to have been just bought. The entire first floor looked like something out of a magazine, luxurious sophisticated, refined. The windows had been cleaned and repaired letting in loads of natural light making the entire space feel grander than it should, given its size.
This was the perfect place to bring Hermione home, it was the perfect place to start their future.
oOo
Snape knelt down in front of the chair his cousin always occupied. His brow furrowed deeply in concentration. He listened to the ticking of the clock on the wall behind him watching and waiting. It was when he counted the final tock, of his mental count-down that he finally raised his hands to remove the potion soaked towel he'd placed over his cousin's eyes. The red band of discolored flesh was gone, melted away by the healing power of his unmatched skills. He leaned in just a bit further setting the towel aside and waited with held breath for her to finally open her eyes.
Eyes, colored deep tigers eye stone, pierced right into his soul and for a moment—a brief alluring moment, he saw what she saw. There were no more questions, no more debate on the proper course of what to do. His reservations eliminated. With one, single, look.
"Go to her, Severus."
oO 1 Week Later Oo
"I don't think this is working Harry..." Ron was rubbing his temples trying to drown out the sound of the charm indicating that Hermione's emotional state was unstable. It had been going off nearly non-stop since the last visit from the healer assigned to replacing her memories had left. They'd come five times now, supposedly bringing her up to age ten, but they couldn't tell. She'd completely shut down to all of them two days in.
Ron had thought bathtime would have been the most stressful thing they'd have to endure, but Ginny had seen to that. It had been rather comical the first time Ginny had emerged wetter than Hermione, but now, things were just spiraling out of control. From day one, Hermione had had terrible night terrors, almost like clock-work one or all of them would wake to the sound of her cries.
"Ah, make it stop Harry...I can't think..."
Harry waved his wand to the soft chiming bell that echoed through the entire house, encasing it in a small bubble muffling the sound. They couldn't turn it off, or they would risk the Ministry reclaiming Hermione as a ward of the state. Though he too was starting to think there had to be better options. He sat down heavily in the kitchen chair rubbing his dark-rimmed eyes.
"We've got to think of something..." Harry rubbed his brow leaning heavily down on his elbow. He glanced over at the wall when the bell came to a stop inside his bubble. "She's more distressed now than when she was facing Voldemort..."
Heavy feet on the stairs raised their heads from the kitchen table and both of them pushed themselves to their feet. Their tired eyes matched Neville's as he made his way down with Hermione's frame wrapped in his arms. She held him like a child would have, an arm around his neck and her legs around his waist. One hand held the bear curled tight to her chest while a river of tears ran down her red face. She was only half dressed, still wearing her Pajamas pants with a red t-shirt. Neville held her with care but it was clear that it was difficult for his tired muscles.
"She's doesn't want them to come anymore..." Neville let out a heavy sigh looking down into the head of curls hidden in his chest. "She doesn't want the healers to come..."
Harry and Ron grimaced slightly leaning back against the walls to hang their heads. The healer had to come, they had to bring more memories. They had to bring her back to herself. Her rightful self. Harry pushed himself up first, moving to pull Hermione's arm from around Neville's neck and to his own. She wasn't a heavy girl, but her frame was nearly as tall as his and it was hard to shift her to his hold. Neville helped where he could and frowned even deeper when Hermione let out a soft whine.
"I'm sorry, but it needs to be done...if you do this...maybe we can have strawberry ice cream for dessert tonight? Yeah?"
Her response was muffled by a sharp knock on the front door. Ron turned his head slowly knowing that the time had come again. Before they could even react. Hermione had pushed herself free of Harry's hold and run, scrambling on her hands and feet, back up the stairs. Harry groaned and made to run after her while Ron and Neville moved towards the door.
They pulled the door open with resignation, their eyes widening when a healer that they'd never seen before stood before them. Their eyes were sharp and narrowed, their back straight and their chin held firm. Their eyes were a dark sea green and their hair a dirty blond that was tied back at the nape of their neck. Their hospital robes were crisp and tight, the sleeves going down just behind their wrist.
"I am here to see, Miss Granger?"
Neville felt it instantly in his bones that something was different about this healer. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Their eyes, their posture, something felt off. The way they spoke, a sort of pause between words. He moved aside to Ron's hand that made way for the healer to come through.
"She's uh...upstairs..." Ron could hear Harry thumping on the door that Hermione had undoubtedly blocked with her dresser, again.
"Thank you." The man stepped inside, letting his doctor's case precede him. His eyes slowly took in the first floor before he silently moved towards the stairs.
It was uncanny how he moved. SIlently, as if his feet didn't even touch the floor. Neville felt an old childhood fear growing in the pit of his stomach as he watched the man make his way out of sight. Still, a bit dumbfounded by the entire exchange Neville absently pushed the door closed before looking at Ron. He wasn't sure the other had even given any thought to where his mind was wandering now.
"I don't think she's going to like this one any better..."
"Let's just hope he can give her something to help her sleep..." Ron and Harry had discussed bringing up her night terrors with the healers that came. Though at the time they were worried that they were a symptom of something they had done, they had decided to wait, but now, they knew they had to risk it.
The healer rounded the second landing his eyes taking in everything around him; until finally, his eyes landed on the tired looking form of Harry Potter. He raised his brow as he came closer setting down his bag on the wall before turning his head towards the door the boy seemingly was unable to open.
"Problems, Mr. Potter?"
"She's scared...she doesn't want to open the door...and she doesn't want to see any more healers..."
"You are, a wizard are you not?"
"We're not allowed to you use magic in front of her...said it might stress her out more..."
"Indeed." His voice was as cold as one could possibly be without making the air in front of them condensate. His eyes turned and his wand came out of his sleeve giving a light tap to the handle. "I'll take it from here, do go and rest Mr. Potter. You look...most dreadful."
Harry felt a small shiver run down his spine. He, like Neville, found the man's presence extremely off-putting. He took a slow step back but didn't truly want to leave. There was a tense pause between them where Harry couldn't fully raise his eyes. Despite his better judgment, he nodded and turned down to take the stairs.
Just as his head was about to clear the landing he heard the soft creak of the door being opened. He watched the man step through without a word and the door close with a soft click. The shiver reappeared, running all the way down his toes.
The healer turned his head around the room slowly after setting down the bag with which he came. The room was modest, a soft canary yellow on the walls, a bed, bookshelf, and desk along the outer walls. The corner of his eye caught sight of a foot hastily disappearing beneath the still unmade bed, but he paid it little attention. Instead, he moved towards the desk that looked rather well used. His finger lightly ran down the page of lines, over and over sentences taken from muggle classics written with a shaky hand.
A small shuffle from behind made his ear twitch but he remained on task. He picked up the small desk chair and brought it to the center of the room before turning his head. A small hand held up the blanket, two wide glassy eyes filled with fear looked back at him and it was then—he knew—things were far worse than they appeared.
oOOo
Harry jerked awake to the small chime that told them that it was time to make dinner; his body nearly falling from the couch from which he'd unknowingly fallen asleep. He blinked his eyes open to the waning light of evening before reaching over his shoulder to retrieve his glasses.
"Hermione...?" Harry grunted heavily pushing himself up to his feet. His nose alerted him that someone was working in the kitchen and he hoped that the others had kept to the schedule. He rubbed his face trying to bring the feeling back when his eyes rose to a redhead of hair that he hadn't seen since Percy's funeral.
"Mrs. Weasley...what brings you here?"
"Spoke to Ginny, said you might need a bit of help..." The woman looked her age more now than ever, her eyes still dark and puffy.
"Yeah...definitely..." Harry looked around but found no one, "Where are the others?"
"Sent them out for a bit of fresh air."
"Hermione?"
"Still with the healer."
"Still?"
Harry turned out of the doorway towards the stairs, his heart beating in his chest, he had known something was wrong. Why hadn't he listened to himself? He pushed away towards the stairs and was just about to take a step when he heard the door overhead come open. He paused with a caught breath arching his neck to try and see around the bend in the stairs.
There was a small murmur, too low for Harry to make out, taking a few more steps he came to a sudden stop when the Healer appeared to him at full height. His forest green eyes stared him down, making him feel infinitely smaller than he could have possibly been. There was a sort of pressure inside his skull before his eyes shifted to the woman that stood behind him.
"Hermione." Harry pushed himself up a couple more steps before remembering how fragile she had been. The healer stepped around him completely, without a single word, and continued down the steps. Harry didn't care, he finished his way to the landing, his eyes ran over her form taking in that she'd finally managed to put on a proper set of clothes and even possibly brush her hair. Quite frankly, she looked better than she had in days.
"I'm hungry...Can I have some strawberries?"
Harry could have laughed, and his chest did flutter as if to do so before he swallowed down the urge. He finished his ascent up the stairs, running his hands over her arms before taking her hands tightly in his, "Yes...you can have all the strawberries you want..."
She gave him a gentle smile and gave his hand a little squeeze. She followed after him without further comment, her feet on the stairs much more confident than before. She'd always climbed up and down with the aid of her hands, but now, for the first time since they brought her home, she was taking them properly. Harry couldn't have been more elated. He wanted to thank the healer, throw him a parade, anything. It was then, he suddenly realized—he'd never asked his name.
oOo
"There you go dear, eat up now. There's plenty more." Mrs. Weasley smiled softly as Hermione took a bite of the strawberry pie she'd made for dessert; it was already her second piece.
Hermione hadn't said much else since she'd come down the stairs but her movements, facial expressions, and acceptance of those around her was definitely on the rise. She no longer looked like a scared kitten but rather a curious, if quiet observer. Ron, Neville, and Ginny had all come home not shortly after the healer had left and had immediately noticed the change as well. Though none of them were truly sure what to make of it, they all felt like a weight had been lifted from the house.
Hermione licked her lips slowly, she still wasn't too good at holding a fork and had subsequently let it fall down to her plate to use her fingers. Ron curled in his lips to keep from laughing into his pumpkin juice when the piece of strawberry she was trying to put into her mouth slipped free from her fingers and bounced off her chin to roll down her chest. Everyone at the table shared a small restrained smile at the incident before holding their breath to see how she'd react.
Mrs. Weasley found only a small humor in the accident but didn't really approve of the others making fun of the girl who had become so important in their lives for something she couldn't possibly help. She cleared her throat giving a look to all of them before leaning over to wipe away the syrup from her chin.
"Smaller bites, if you please." Molly clicked her tongue at the girl who reached up again to push the escaped strawberry back into her mouth. Her fingers coated red from the endeavor. Molly let out a small sigh and shook her head turning her eyes back down to her plate.
"Think it's a lost cause Mum..." Ron curled his lips in a bit watching her bring her messy fingers back to her lips. "Best let her get on with it...she's going to need a bath anyway..."
"Is that tonight?" Ginny turned her head to look at the daily schedules posted on the wall that the healers had left on their first day, every hour meticulously scripted. "Better get my raincoat this time."
"Oh, surely she's not that bad." Mrs. Weasley had no idea what the children had gone through in the past days, she had just learned about Hermione's return that morning when Ginny had come by the house to eat breakfast claiming that she needed some peace and quiet.
Ron and Harry couldn't stop their smiles from growing though they held their tongues. Harry gave Ginny a small pat on her thigh as a way of encouragement before looking over at Hermione who was suckling the syrup off of her finger. She tilted her head at him and for a second he thought she'd recognized him. Whatever the healer had done, he was sure they hadn't seen all the benefits.
The chime that indicated the next part of Hermione's day pinged overhead and Ginny made a small face, "No time like the present then."
"But she hasn't finished..." Mrs. Weasley watched her daughter come to her feet with a worried look on her brow. She didn't understand why they had such a charm in place at all. Wouldn't it have just been better to allow Hermione to willingly come into each event under her own power?
"Sorry, we're kind of bound by it..." Harry sighed softly and reached over pulling the plate from in front of Hermione, "It's time for your bath..."
Hermione let out a soft noise of discontent but didn't make any real objections. Her head turning to the side as Ginny moved around the table to help her to her feet. She glanced at Harry with a look of sadness, her finger still in her mouth before she rose to Ginny's guiding hand. Ginny rubbed her lower back, something she'd learned helped calm her down and gave her mom a forced smile as she led Hermione from the room.
Mrs. Weasley frowned deeply and looked out at all the kids before her, "Someone better explain everything."
oOo
"How did you get syrup behind your ear?" Ginny glanced down at the elder girl who's hair she'd just pulled back to wash. To her great surprise, Hermione hadn't put up a single fight to anything she'd done. She'd removed her clothes, stepped into the bath and simply stared at her feet letting Ginny do what she needed to do to get her clean. It was unnerving.
Ginny pressed the washcloth behind the ridge of her ear and gave it a gentle scrub. The worry that had been building in her stomach at her complacency was starting to build. "Hermione?" Ginny shifted her hold of her hair coming back around so she could see her face. "Do you want to try washing your hair?"
Hermione didn't answer, her eyes didn't move to her question. She merely stayed as she was, staring down into the murky water. Ginny frowned deeply before releasing her hair entirely, "Are you still hungry?"
A small shake of Hermione's head was her only response and Ginny let out a small breath, "I saw a pretty cat today..." Ginny raised her hands again, running her fingers through the girl's hair using a cup to wet the somewhat sticky strands. "It was black and white..."
Ginny continued to tell her story, her fingers running through Hermione's wet mane. She had always wanted a sister, she just wasn't so sure she wanted a life-size doll. Her heart ached to remember the old Hermione, the beautifully confident, extremely brilliant and wonderfully kind girl she'd come to know. Ginny held back her tears and worked her fingers through her hair forcing herself to stay on task.
The bath continued on without incident, much to Ginny's relief. She held the towel up for Hermione to step into keeping her eyes from lingering over the scars that marred her friend's otherwise perfect skin. It had been so painful for her the first time, so unbelievingly heartbreaking for her to bear, she hadn't told anyone what she'd seen. It felt wrong to do so.
Ginny smiled and wrapped the towel around Hermione letting her take hold of it. She turned away for a moment and lifted the other towel dropping it over her head. The girl let out a soft noise as Ginny ruffled her hair dry. Ginny chuckled softly when the wet strands started to curl into a riotous mess.
"Time for a book and then bed yeah? Which one do you want to read tonight?"
"Great Expectations..."
Ginny paused in pulling up the pajama top to look at her, a relieved smile forming on her face, "Alright...sounds good...Arms in..." Ginny held out the shirt letting Hermione take the lead. It was much easier to dress her when she was standing still, that much was certain.
oOOo
"She's asleep..." Ginny sighed heavily crawling onto the couch to lay in Harry's lap. "She's different..."
"Yeah...though not so sure it's progress..." Harry kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes letting his cheek rest against the top of her head. "It was a different healer today...I didn't even get his name..."
"Do you think we should be worried?"
"I don't know yet..." Harry let his head fall back turning his eyes to the beautifully painted ceiling.
"Did he remind you of anyone?" Neville was sat in one of the armchairs by the fire, a book about Herbology in his lap. They'd hidden all the 'magical' books on the top shelves of the library well out of Hermione's reach but they were still careful about when and where they read them.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know...he just felt..."
"Snapey?" Ron came in chomping on a biscuit, "He gave me the creeps..."
Harry's eyes widened considerably before he pushed himself up rocking Ginny, "What if it is Snape?"
"How'd you mean?" Neville leaned forward.
"What if-What if Snape somehow...I don't know Magic!" Harry shifted Ginny off of his lap, "I mean...think about it! He saved her life!"
"Yeah, after he nearly killed her in the first place!" Ron's face was turning red. Snape had and always would be, a rather sore spot for the redhead.
"Ron, you know that's not true." Harry glared at his best friend, "Besides, it's not like the other healers were doing any good...they left her a right mess until today."
Ginny pursed her lips shifting so that her elbows rested on her knees, "Even so, you can't very well just go around accusing someone of being someone else, it's not like his name is very well liked outside of this room..."
"Or inside." Ron muttered, stuffing the rest of his biscuit into his mouth. "I think we should just be careful...next time he comes, one of us should stay with her."
"They don't normally let us stay with her during her sessions...There's no way that'll work..."
"What about the mirror?" Neville closed his book, "Do you still have it?"
"No...it's gone...I don't know where it is..."
Ron huffed softly, "I'm going to bed."
"It's only 9:30." Ginny gave him a curious look.
"Yeah, well I haven't been sleeping well lately..." Ron wiped a crumb from his mouth and skulked out.
Ginny looked at Neville and Harry in turn before looking down at her hands. What a mess.