A/N: This is a snippet I wrote for the Harmony discord a long time ago centered around the concept of Harry being hit by a memory curse.

Harry's eyes fluttered open and he immediately felt a pang of unease at the cold sterility of the room he found himself in. It was immediately clear he was in some sort of hospital, but it felt off…different. Like something out of a movie from the thirties.

He heard a startled gasp in his periphery and turned to see a young woman staring at him. She had a book in her hand…presumably reading while she waited for him to wake. The book was quickly discarded as she made her way to his side.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. She was doing her best to appear calm, but Harry could feel the desperation and fear coming off her in waves.

"Fine, I think," he replied. His arms and legs seemed to be functioning and there was no obvious pain.

"Do you know your name?" she asked.

"Harry Potter," he answered immediately, drawing a relieved sigh from the girl. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you know who I am?"

Harry had an overwhelming feeling in his subconscious that he should know who this person was, but that knowledge was stubbornly just out of reach.

"I'm sorry, no," he answered honestly.

There was a brief look of despair on the girl's face before she stubbornly pushed it to the background. She took another breath. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Suddenly it became clear to him why this woman was so upset. He knew he was eighteen…he was absolutely positive he was eighteen…but his last memory told a different story.

"I received a letter…about a magical school. Hog-something," he answered. "But that was a long time ago. Something has happened to me, hasn't it?"

The girl was doing her best to stem the tide but, despite her best efforts, a few tears breached her defenses. She quickly wiped them away as she nodded in confirmation. "We went to that school together…Hogwarts. This should have been our final year, but something happened. There was a war…"

Once again he could feel the memories doing their best to poke through…and once again they were stubbornly held at bay. The details were absent but he could practically feel the history he shared with this girl. It surrounded him like a warm blanket as vague snatches of information slipped past the barrier.

"I was in danger," he eventually managed. "I was in danger, but you were with me," he stated.

"That's right," she replied, a bit of hope returning to her voice. "We won. You won, but you were hit by a curse; an Obliviation curse. We've been waiting for you to wake up to see how much of the past that you've lost."

He moved to speak but she wasn't finished.

"It's going to be fine, Harry. We're going to help you. I'm going to help you. You aren't alone."

He knew he should be panicking right now. He'd lost seven years. He'd lost seven years due to his memories being magically taken away from him. Magic was real and it had apparently erased seven years of his life. This was an awful, insane situation.

But as he looked at this determined girl…this girl that seemed to be almost daring him to contradict her absolute assuredness, he believed her, and calmed.

"Are you my girlfriend?" he blurted.

The sudden change in topic must have thrown the girl, as she gave a small, relieved laugh. "No," she answered. "But we're friends. Best friends. My name is Hermione. Hermione Granger."

The girl…Hermione…had a lovely smile. His musings were interrupted as several people bustled into the room and began waving sticks, wands he presumed, over his body.

"He just woke a few minutes ago," Hermione informed. "His last memory was from when he was eleven…when he received his Hogwarts letter. But there is more there. The emotional connections are still there…I'm sure of it."

The wand waving suddenly stopped and all eyes turned toward him. It was clear that they were awaiting confirmation of Hermione's supposition.

She was staring at him as well. Her initial panic and distress was now gone…replaced with a cross between unabashed affection and strength. And suddenly, despite the barrage of horrid information, Harry knew they would sort out a solution. He somehow knew that Hermione wouldn't rest until she had helped him, and if the situation were reversed, he would do the same for her. The emotional connection was most definitely there.

How was this woman not his girlfriend?

"She's right," he confirmed. "I can't explain it but she's right."

The new people muttered amongst themselves for a few moments before the furious wand waving began anew. At some point Hermione made her way back to his side and she began holding his hand. As the chaos swirled around them, their eyes met and Harry felt an innate assurance that everything would be fine. Regardless of what these strangers were able to manage, this girl, Hermione, would sort out a way to help him. He was sure of it.

He couldn't wait until they were alone again, desperately wanting to solve the mystery of why Hermione wasn't his girlfriend.