The Next Step

24th of April, 1996

Thankfully Professor Douglas had gotten a bit more serious about teaching the 'boring stuff' as he called it to his students. Hermione was happier even if it didn't rival either Professor Lupin or Moody. At least he was making an effort. Hermione and Neville waved goodbye to Harry that morning as he headed off to St Mungo's.

Alice smiled brightly as Kato arrived. She was bored and the nurses weren't very good company. Some days she wondered why she was in the hospital, but when she asked the nurses wouldn't answer her. Maybe Kato would? Kato was different. He was nice and he played with her.

"Kato," Alice said as he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Yes, Alice, dear," Kato responded.

"Why am I here?" Alice asked. She saw how his eyes widened. For a moment she could almost hear him think then he held his hand out. A mirror appeared before Alice and she was allowed to look at herself for the first time since she had woken up in that hospital bed.

"Is that really me?" Alice asked. The woman in the mirror had white wispy hair and quite a few wrinkles. Except for the white hair, she looked like her mother.

"Yes," Kato said. "I've told you that I'm helping you regain your memories, Alice."

"I thought it was just a few though," Alice said softly. "There have to be so many memories I don't have if I'm that old." She looked scared, and Kato could understand her. Her situation wasn't an easy one.

"What if I don't want to remember?" Alice asked suddenly.

Kato took a deep breath. "A lot of people who care about you would feel hurt," he said truthfully.

"My mother is dead isn't she?" Alice asked as her eyes started tearing up. "That is why she never comes to visit."

Kato nodded slowly. "I'm sorry Alice," he said.

"I hate you," Alice said. "I hate you and I never want to see you again."

Kato smiled softly as he stood up from his chair. He knew this might happen, and he knew he had to give her time to process. Maybe, he should have waited. Maybe, he shouldn't have shown her, but it had to be done at some point.

Alice watched Kato go. She curled up in a ball and started crying. Why was everyone so mean to her?

27th of April, 1995.

Alice threw her copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe against the wall. It was a stupid book. She hated it. She hated everything. The stupid nurses and the dumb man who just kept on sleeping next to her. She hated Kato for leaving her.

What if he never came back?

Her eyes teared up. What if Kato hated her now? He was the only nice person she knew and she had told him she hated him.

Alice got out of bed and fetched her book. If Kato came back, she didn't want him to think that she didn't like his gift.

29th of April, 1996.

Alice was chewing on her nails. What if Kato wasn't coming back?

Maybe she had ruined her chances completely. She was so tired of just sitting there. Maybe regaining her memories would be best. Anything had to be better than this.

1st of May, 1996.

Alice was pacing back and forth. Kato should have arrived already… right? He wasn't coming. She had driven him away. She was such an awful person. She sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. "How are you doing, dear?"

Alice looked up and smiled. "Kato!" she exclaimed happily.

Kato sat down in his usual chair and placed his hands on her knees. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Alice sighed. "I don't want to be a child anymore. If I'm really an adult then I want to be that just so people can't tell me what to do anymore," she whined.

Kato smiled. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Alice nodded. "Please," she said.

Kato took her hands. "This might be a little confusing," he said before entering her mind. He carefully extracted one memory after another. He was exhausted as he left Alice's mind. She didn't look to be faring much better than him.

"How about you get some sleep, dear," Kato said. "Then everything can settle for you and not be so messy."

Alice nodded and yawned. "Okay, Mr Kato," she said. She laid down and he tucked her in. "Thank you for coming back," she said as her eyes slowly blinked closed.

"Of course, I was going to come back," Kato said. He was doing this for Neville just as much as he was doing it for Alice. He couldn't stop now.

Kato left the hospital and headed back to Hogwarts.

Harry yawned as he settled down with his classmates in Herbology. Just maybe he had overdone the session. He listened to Professor Sprout with half an ear. Hopefully, Neville would fill him in later.

"You don't look so good Harry," Hermione commented after class.

"I might have used a bit too much magic in my session with Alice today," Harry said.

"How about you get something to eat and then pop off to bed? We only have Herbology and Care today. If you sleep now then maybe you'll be up for Astronomy this evening at least," Neville said.

"Just don't do this again, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry smiled. "Will do ma'am," he said. A nap would do him good, but Hermione was right. He would have to be a bit more careful.

8th of May, 1996.

"Is that really Frank Longbottom?" Alice asked as Kato arrived that morning. "The nurses told me his name."

Kato raised an eyebrow. "Well, they aren't lying to you," he said.

"Why is Frank Longbottom lying in a bed next to mine?" Alice asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Kato asked.

Alice gave him a pensive look. "Yes, I do think so," she said.

Kato sat down and met Alice's curious gaze. "Frank is in the bed next to yours because the two of you got together and after Hogwarts, you got married," Kato explained.

"Oh," Alice's eyes were wide. So she married Frank. A small smile played on her lips. That wasn't so bad. Then she looked up at Kato. "Why are we in here?" she asked.

Kato sighed. "Some very bad people came to your home and hurt you so badly it fractured your mind," he said truthfully.

Alice's eyes widened. "That's why you are helping me?" she asked.

Kato nodded.

*What about Frank?"

"Your minds were affected differently," Kato said. "Frank retreated into himself and I can't reach him."

"But you will," Alice said.

"I'm certainly trying," Kato said reassuringly.

Alice nodded. "That's good," she said. She looked over at Frank. "That's good."

…

Later that evening when Harry sat with Hermione and Neville in the common room he told them of his progress with Alice.

"So she is happy knowing that Frank is her husband?" Neville asked.

"Yes, though she refers to it happening in the future. Which in some ways are true at least to her," Harry said.

Neville nodded. He was glad things were going better with his mom. Hopefully, she would make a full recovery soon.

11th of May, 1996.

Kato ended his lesson with the Dwemer. Things were going along well. His students were dedicated and they at least had a rudimentary understanding of the runes by now. His beeper went off and he pulled the orb out of his pocket. "Winky!" he called.

"What does Master Kato want from his Winky?" Winky asked as she appeared.

"Could you let Hermione and Neville know that I have to head to St Mungo's? I don't know when I'll be back," Kato said. "The Longbottoms are fine so they don't have to worry."

"Winky will let 'Mione and Neville know," Winky said before disappearing.

Kato gathered his things and headed out of the bank. He had a feeling he knew what this was about considering the timing. When he arrived at St Mungo's he headed straight for the floor he was needed on. "Where is my patient?" he asked one of the mediwitches as he arrived.

"They are in room seven," the mediwitch answered.

Kato nodded. He headed over to the staffroom to get changed before he walked over to the right room. A mediwitch met him at the door. She handed him a clipboard and he looked it over. So far everything was going well.

"Good evening Mr and Mrs Hale," Kato said.

Chiara smiled as Kato walked up to them. "I'm glad you could make it," she said.

"Of course, Chiara. I wouldn't leave you now," he said.

"The mediwitches didn't seem so sure," Chiara said.

"The mediwitches don't know me that well," Kato said with a smile. "They can ping me to let me know I'm needed. Some keep track of that, and some don't since I don't work here full-time. Thankfully, I had you flagged so if you took in then I would be notified."

"At least someone knows what they are doing," Adam, Chiara's husband, said.

"How do you feel, Chiara?" Kato asked.

"Heavy. The pain comes and goes, but my water broke so we figured it was best to come in," Chiara said.

"Would you like me to take a look?" Kato asked.

"Yes, please," Chiara said. She looked up at her husband nervously as Kato sat down next to her. She lifted her shit and waited while he placed a comfortably warm hand on her stomach. "Your baby is doing just fine," Kato said. "They are positioned perfectly."

Chiara smiled. "That's good," she said.

"If you feel comfortable with it, walking around is good for both you and the baby," Kato said. "You don't have to stay in this room. How about you head up to the cafeteria and get some snacks."

…

Hours later Harry returned to Hogwarts. He checked the time. Two o'clock in the morning. Monday's lessons were going to be rough. At least everything had gone great and Chiara and her husband now had a little baby daughter.

15th of May,1996.

Alice was almost bouncing on her bed when Kato arrived. "Can you unlock more of my memories?" she asked.

"Not this time," Kato said. "You still need some time to process what I unlocked last time." He sat down. "Next time though. We should be able to continue, but we'll do it slowly for a bit. Then I'll run you through a big one in about a month."

"I guess that's fine," Alice said disappointed.

"If we rush it, that could be bad," Kato said.

Alice sighed. She guessed he was right. She wasn't about to start arguing with him. "Can we play a game?" she asked.

Kato smiled. "Of course," he said. He called Winky and had her bring in a couple of different games that could still be fun for only two people.

They played a few of them before Kato had to head out again.

Alice felt better. She watched Kato leave. She was confused. A part of her was convinced she had homework to do or Professor McGonagall would be angry. She had to keep reminding herself that she was done with school. Hopefully, unlocking more memories would help with that.