Ron Weasley sat in the chair in his room, staring ahead, lost in thought. He did that a lot these days. Ever since the girl he used to love tried to murder the girl he currently loved. Ever since he discovered the girl he currently loved had put a mind-controlling bracelet on his wrist and forgot to take it off. Wearing it for so long, far longer than he should have, had somehow damaged his mind. Now, Ron had armed guards shadowing his every move, ensuring he and the girl who did this to him wouldn't have any interactions, as that might worsen the damage, apparently.

Ron wasn't so self-centered as to think something like this could only happen to him. He knew other people's lives could get weird and complicated as well. But he was pretty sure his current situation would at least rank him in the top ten.

And it was all his fault!

At least the part about Hermione trying to murder the girl he loved. He had the chance to take Hermione down and end her escape attempt right away. He certainly should have done so after she assaulted Astoria. But something inside him wouldn't let him do it. Ron wasn't sure whether it was their friendship or any lingering romantic feelings he might have had for Hermione. In any case, he ended up joining his friend instead of stopping her. Given what Hermione tried to do afterward, it was the biggest mistake of his life.

And Ron should have seen it coming. The signs were all there – the fact Hermione had already attacked Harry, took his wand, and essentially left him to die; the way she stunned Astoria despite the younger girl only wanting to help and protect her. But most of all, there was the completely deranged look in her eyes. Ron wished he could say he had first seen it that day, but he couldn't. For months, Hermione had been telling him about how Daphne Greengrass was more evil than the dark lord and how she (and by extension, Harry) had to be stopped by any means necessary. Her ominous silence when questioned whether she would actually join Voldemort to accomplish that had been most telling. It was like Hermione had demonized Daphne Greengrass in her mind to such a huge degree she was no longer capable of thinking straight, hating and fearing the blonde in equal measures and to a reason-overwhelming degree.

Ron reckoned Daphne had a lion's share of the blame for driving Hermione toward such self-destructive mindset. All Hermione wanted was to be treated like an equal, but Daphne would never give her that, callously robbing Hermione of her agency in life in the name of her pureblood supremacy philosophy. Instead of giving up and submitting to Daphne, it caused Hermione to lash out, and she had been lashing out ever since. The few choices she was allowed to make along the way, she made poorly. But regardless of how she had reached her current state, it was absolutely clear to Ron that Hermione had completely lost her mind, and was a danger to everyone around her.

At the time though, he just couldn't see that. Not until his rabidly mad friend was slicing Astoria's throat with the goblin dagger. That was the moment when Hermione Granger stopped being Ron's friend. To do something like that to an innocent young girl, who was a friend to both of them, was beyond the pale.

Ron was overcome with regrets at letting it happen, despite Harry and Daphne insisting it wasn't his fault. Even Daphne quickly forgave him, despite the fact he had raised his wand against her and the guards. Her uncharacteristic generosity surprised Ron, but Daphne might have simply been grateful to him for ultimately saving Astoria's life or perhaps feeling guilty about the bracelet.

The bracelet. Every time he thought about the thing, Ron only felt… confusion.

According to the healers, his mind had been infiltrated and somehow changed by the bracelet, but it had now been days since they took it off, and Ron still didn't feel any different. He even tried to look back, carefully examining his memories since their capture, and still couldn't pinpoint when he started to feel changed if ever. In fact, aside from suffering massive remorse over what happened during Hermione's escape attempt, Ron felt good. So why should this be a problem when he felt completely normal? In what way had his mind been changed?!

The obvious answer was his love for Astoria.

But how was that even possible? All his life, he heard people saying it was impossible to create true love by magical means. And as for false love, he vividly recalled his experience with the love potion last year and knew this wasn't it. According to Harry and Daphne, the bracelet had inadvertently made him vulnerable to Astoria and prone to fulfilling her wishes. They said that's why he was in love with her, but Ron had trouble believing that, thinking there was a big difference between loving someone and wanting to do things for them. Even if the part about his desire to fulfill Astoria's wishes was true, the girl had never ordered him to fall in love with her, so him being in love with her because of the bracelet made no sense to him.

No, Ron was in love with Astoria Greengrass not because of some bracelet, but because she was a beautiful, kind, and amazing girl!

An image of Astoria holding him on a leash and forcing him to crawl after her like a pig briefly flashed through Ron's troubled mind, as if trying to instantly disprove his last thought. He blinked a few times before shrugging. "Well, she's kind most of the time…" he spoke to the empty room and laughed nervously. Knowing Astoria was capable of being so utterly heartless had always been difficult for him to reconcile with the image of the nice girl he had fallen in love with. But Ron knew Astoria's initial actions toward him were made in the midst of the maddening grief she felt over her father's death, not to mention Ron had largely invited her ire with his big mouth. In any case, he forgave her a long time ago, even before falling in love with her.

Ron loved Astoria Greengrass… and yet come tomorrow, he would have no idea who she was. The mind healers were set to perform their operation on him in the morning. Ron desperately wished this wasn't necessary, especially since he felt completely fine. Part of him even wanted to argue with Harry and Daphne about it, even resist. But the sad truth was they couldn't listen to any of his arguments, not knowing whether it was genuinely him speaking or the bracelet's influence. They all couldn't be certain of anything he was doing or saying, and Ron knew he couldn't go on like that.

And so Ron resigned himself to his fate, wishing things could have been different and he could have at least spoken with Astoria once last time. He'd only caught glimpses of her since Hermione's escape attempt, the guards promptly steering them apart whenever they ran into each other in the corridors. It was one of the reasons Ron chose to stay in his room most of the time. He didn't want to limit Astoria's freedom of movement in her own home.

Ron sighed wistfully before getting out of his chair to prepare for bed. He barely managed to stand when Astoria… appeared. She didn't come through the door or apparate in, both of which would have been audible and utterly impossible due to the wards preventing that. It was more like Ron blinked and suddenly she was there, right in front of him. Astoria had her back turned as she looked at the door, but it was definitely her.

"Tori…" he quietly whispered, not daring to hope what he was seeing was real. It was possible he had been missing Astoria so much his brain conjured up her image to comfort him. But then the girl reacted to his utterance of her name, proving she was more than a figment of his imagination. She turned around, and Ron barely caught a glimpse of something shiny around her neck before she hid it beneath her shirt. He didn't particularly care about what it was, as the very next moment he was struck speechless by how beautiful she was, and how indescribably happy he was to see her.

"Ron," the girl of his dreams smiled warmly and stepped closer, both their hands automatically reaching out for a hug. For a moment, Ron was in heaven as he held her close. But in what felt like a second, Astoria pulled away again, her smile gone and her beautiful face marred with regret. "I'm so sorry… about everything," she told him quickly but firmly, and Ron could tell it was something she'd been dying to say for a while now. He knew that feeling well.

"It wasn't your fault," he assured her and squeezed her shoulder in encouragement.

"Of course it was! I-"

"Did you do this to me on purpose?" Ron interrupted her. "Did you know this could happen?" he rapidly asked in quick succession. When Astoria shook her head no to both questions, he smiled and said, "You see? It was an accident," he insisted.

Astoria studied him for a moment before she shook her head, looking humbled. "I don't deserve you forgiveness," she told him, taking a tiny step forward. She now stood directly in front of him, and Ron could feel his heart beating faster. "But I thank you for it nonetheless… and for saving my life that day," she told him seriously. Then she leaned towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek, making Ron's heart race madly while also simultaneously coming to a screeching halt.

"Tori… you know, don't you?" he asked with a trembling voice as she pulled away, the ghost feeling of her lips still tingling on his cheek. "You know that I love you," he said, finally admitting what he had been dying to tell her for months now while fantasizing about how Astoria might react. Shock, happiness, anger, rejection… he had imagined all sorts of reactions and expressions playing on Astoria's face upon his admission of love, but not the guilt that was practically radiating from her as she looked at him with pity.

"I know… Daphne told me," she admitted, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Ron. I care about you… but I can't return the feelings you have for me. I love Draco. I will always love him," Astoria told him before pulling him into a hug again. "I'm so sorry," she repeated.

"Don't be… I understand," he told her, not wishing to hear her apologize for loving her fiancé. If anything, he hated the fact he had put her into such a position in the first place. Ron always feared Astoria's words of rejection would feel like someone pushing a dagger through his heart. He was surprised when that didn't happen. Perhaps it was because he always knew what her answer would be, and it came as no surprise.

"Hey… we can still be friends, right?" he told her hesitantly. He was going to lose his current memories of her, but there was nothing stopping him from getting to know her again afterward, this time with no magical bracelets confusing his feelings. When Astoria let go of him, he saw there were tears in her eyes, but she also looked strangely determined.

"This is why I came," she told him, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "We don't have much time. Tomorrow, they're going to take away your memories of me."

"I know, it… sucks," Ron replied simply, feeling like no other word better described how he felt about the situation.

Astoria nodded at, sharing his sentiment. "But what if there was a way for you to keep your memories?" she asked, both shocking Ron and capturing his undivided attention.

"How?" he questioned her in disbelief.

Astoria took a small step back. "The healers said whatever the bracelet did to you was going to naturally decay in about ten years, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, they've told me. They also said I'd have to stay with you all that time or risk going mad… or worse," Ron reminded her, wondering what exactly she was suggesting. "I'd never place that kind of burden on you," he told her resolutely. The idea of Astoria having to keep him in her life whether she liked it or not, and being forced to care for him like he was an invalid, was completely unacceptable to Ron. It was the main reason why he wasn't objecting to the memory wipe.

"You wouldn't be a burden!" Astoria hissed in outrage, and at his confused look, she added. "All we'd have to do is keep to our previous agreement – you become my bodyguard after war. If you do that, then you'll continue to be in my life and the conditions the healers specified would be fulfilled."

Ron blinked in surprise as she presented a scenario he hadn't previously considered. And it was a very tempting one. Ron wanted nothing more than to agree right away, but there was one obvious caveat he could see, "Wouldn't it be weird now that you know how I feel about you?" he questioned with worry. "I mean, what about Draco? How will your future husband react knowing your bodyguard is in love with you?" he wondered before looking into her grey eyes. "I can't just decide to stop loving you, Tori. It's not possible for me."

Astoria stepped closer again and stroked his cheek. "You let me worry about Draco," she told him. "And as for me… I did this to you, Ron," she said, the bitter regret once again filling her voice. "So let me make this up to you… please!" she pleaded her as she lowered her hand. "Just forget about how others might feel and think only about yourself for the moment," she asked him and Ron tried to do just that. "Given how you feel about me, would you be able to handle being a bodyguard for me and Draco? For our future family?" she asked uncertainly, but clearly outlining the key decision Ron had to make. And Ron thought about what she said, long and hard.

Could he for the next ten years watch the woman he loved be with another man? It was something he had already thought about, even before Hermione's escape attempt. Back then he had concluded that yes, he could handle it. He wanted to stay with Astoria above all else and if the price was watching her and Draco be together, then it was a price he was willing to pay. But that was before Astoria knew how he felt. And now that she knew, it was inevitable Draco would know as well. Ron couldn't ask her to keep something like this from her future husband.

Finally, Ron reached a decision. He looked into her eyes and asked, "Tori… if I do this I do get paid, right?"

The girl stared at him for a second before she exploded with laughter that Ron soon joined. After a moment, she pulled out a small piece of paper from her dress and handed it to him. "I figured this might come up," she told him with a smirk. "Here's the typical tariff for the head bodyguard of a noble family."

Ron read it and gaped at the number. "That's…" he was going to say how it was way too generous before shaking his head and letting the paper fall onto a nearby table. "There's still a big problem with this plan," he finally told her. "Harry and Daphne are never going to agree to it. They're just going assume I'm acting under the bracelet's influence," he pointed out.

Astoria frowned angrily and shook her head. "This has nothing to do with them! They have no right to force you into giving up your memories, it's completely unfair!" she stressed before leaning closer and adding conspiratorially. "Besides, I thought about that. There's a way to prevent them from interfering," she said and smirked confidently.

Ron didn't see how that could be but he trusted Astoria. He briefly glanced at the door and asked, "I take it nobody else knows you're here?" When she nodded, he returned her confident smile. "So what's the plan?"

The girl reached into her pocket again and this time she pulled out a much larger piece of paper. "Basically, all you need to do is sign a contract and swear a magical oath of servitude to me," Astoria explained. "They won't be able to wipe your memories anymore because then you'd still be bound to serve me without knowing why. And if we specify it to last ten years, then they won't be able to force either of us into prematurely ending it either," she told him.

Ron was shocked. "I-I've never heard about anything like this," he admitted even as he took the contract from her and read it thoroughly. The text of the oath Astoria wished him to swear was written there as well. "Tori, this is quite… extensive," Ron remarked after he was finished reading it.

The girl nodded at that assessment. "It was used to bind muggleborns in the past," Astoria told him. "They have since then done something to Magic to make sure it couldn't be used for that purpose anymore. But since we're both purebloods, it'll still work for us. I've checked," she assured him.

Ron didn't doubt she knew what she was talking about. But he was still hesitant, as swearing that oath would mean he'd be completely at Astoria's mercy, nothing more, nothing less. Having his life controlled by someone, even if it was a girl he loved, filled him with trepidation. Especially as said girl had once outright tortured him and made him crawl like a pig…

"You don't trust me," Astoria guessed after a while from his expression. She didn't look angry or insulted, just sad. "I guess I can't blame you," she reasoned. "Not after what I did to you," she admitted with shame.

"Tori… I want to believe you," Ron admitted, and it was the honest truth. He didn't want to lose his memories, and being Astoria's bodyguard was something he had long wanted. Besides, he'd be making more than his father and Percy combined. He'd also be with the woman he loved even if she never loved him in return. All in all, it was almost a good resolution to a completely horrible and impossible situation. And yet something was still holding him back. A tiny doubting voice inside him telling him it wasn't a good idea.

"Let me make it easier for you, then," Astoria said, stepping forward and stroking his cheek, the same spot her lips had previously graced. "I'll swear an oath that I'm never going to abuse you like I did before."

"Y- you'd do that?" he asked in surprise while trying to get his breathing under control, once again struck by how beautiful Astoria looked tonight.

"Of course!" she assured him. "Let's make it part of the contract," she offered, finally convincing Ron.

"All right… just tell me what to do."


Astoria watched with barely hidden satisfaction as Ron kneeled before her, reciting the magical oath of submission. Until the last moment, she wasn't sure she could actually convince Ron to do this. And she needed him to do it, needed Ron to willingly surrender. Not out of some weird domination fetish (she wasn't Daphne) but because her plans for the future hinged on Ron Weasley submitting to her control and keeping his memories. Astoria needed it to happen so much she actually took a page out of her sister's playbook and dressed herself in some of the sexier clothes she possessed to further entice him. She didn't need to bother. The dress certainly helped as Ron's eyes had been practically glued to her form since the moment he saw her, but Astoria had a feeling the same would have happened had she dressed in a potato bag.

It wasn't just physical lust she saw in Ron's eyes. The lust was definitely there, but what she mostly saw was a genuine adoration of her person… love. Ron Weasley truly loved her. Daphne told her as much, but part of Astoria still couldn't accept it until she had seen it with her own eyes. How had she not seen it before? Had Ron been hiding it from her so well? He must have been, as the only other interpretation was Astoria being utterly clueless and unobservant to a pathological degree. And she refused to believe that.

Astoria hated that Ron loved her. It made it so much easier for her to seduce him into her control, but she would have still preferred if all he felt towards her was mere lust. If all he wanted was her body, then Astoria wouldn't have felt nearly so bad about tricking him into submission and stringing him along like a lovesick puppy. And she had no illusion about the fact that's exactly what she was doing. Given all the manipulations she had to employ today, it was amazing she lied to him only about one thing – Astoria didn't think it was better for Ron to become her servant so that he could keep his memories. In her actual honest opinion, losing a full year of memories, no matter how traumatic, was a worthy price to pay for regaining one's free will.

But she needed him to agree to this. So she lied and convinced him being her servant was the better option for him, preying on all his desires and weaknesses like a cold, heartless bitch. Astoria knew she'd get away with it too, for while being her devoted servant wasn't the better option for Ron personally, it was without a doubt the best option for everyone around him.

From her personal point of view, she would obviously be gaining a capable and a devoted bodyguard. The fact Ron Weasley truly loved her made it even better as Astoria knew he wouldn't hesitate to give his life for hers if necessary. Plus, having Harry Potter's best friend as her sworn shield would ensure no one was going to call the Malfoy family traitors after the war. Just having Ron stand behind Draco and her would discourage almost all who might bother them.

But her reasoning didn't revolve just around her own selfish reasons, not by a long shot. While on the outside Harry and Daphne would no doubt be furious with her, deep down they would be relieved as not having to wipe Ron's memories massively simplified things for them. Her sister was bound to see how much it benefitted the war effort while Harry would be happy to be keeping his best friend around. Ron's family would also be better off not having to take care of a memory-wiped person. And from everything Ron told her about them, Astoria strongly believed his parents will be happy Ron was going to have a steady, high-paying job in the future. Indeed, Ron keeping his memories by becoming her sworn servant was in everyone's interest aside from Ron and… one other person.

It could be said without exaggeration that Ron forgetting the last year of his life had been Hermione Granger's last hope. Had his memories been removed, then Ron would have forgotten everything about Astoria and every event happening since their arrival at Greengrass manor. Her sister and Harry were preparing memories and letters for him to explain everything, but Astoria knew it wouldn't have worked. The transformative experience Ron had gone through over the last few months couldn't be condensed into few letters. Without the necessary context, Ron wouldn't understand why Harry was with Daphne or supporting her plans.

And the worst part… he would go right back to being in love with Granger, whining at the mudblood's heels. Astoria knew from experience how stubborn Ron could be. Without his love for Granger being gradually replaced and redirected as it had been, Astoria knew he would never listen to anyone. He would be outraged at the treatment his friend had suffered, insisting Hermione be released immediately. Eventually, he would convince Harry of that, who would then convince Daphne.

And Astoria wasn't about to let that happen. She wouldn't let that murdering bitch walk away into the sunset, holding hands with a loving boyfriend! Granger didn't deserve to have anyone love her!

Ron finished reciting the oath and Astoria now said her part, sealing their pact. She happily recited the oath not to abuse him the way she did when they first met. She never had any plans to be mean to him and was in fact determined to make sure he had a good and happy life. As Daphne liked to say, only an idiot would abuse their servants.

With their pact sealed, Astoria smiled at him with affection, while inside her mind she was dancing with joy. Ron was now hers, meaning he wasn't going to rush to Granger's rescue. She didn't think there was any affection left for the girl in Ron's mind, but if there was, as his new mistress, Astoria would be stomping it out soon enough. Eventually, Ron would soon come to hate Hermione Granger the same way Astoria hated her. And so, with no one of significance arguing on her behalf, Daphne would be perfectly free to keep Hermione imprisoned, which was another reason why her sister was bound to forgive Astoria for doing this behind her back.

And with all that said and done, Astoria's revenge on Hermione Granger was complete.

Astoria had taken the person who could have loved Hermione and made him hers. And so much more, if certain someone was to be believed. Astoria had been spending a lot of time with Luna Lovegood and while the girl kept insisting she wasn't seer, the things she said were usually spot-on. At one point, they happened to be discussing children's names. Luna's eyes became dreamy as they sometimes did before she started listing off what everyone's children's names were going to be. It sounded like nonsense but Luna had actually managed to guess the name Astoria always wanted to give to her first son with Draco. Astoria was unsure what to think about Luna at times, but part of her was hoping the girl actually had the ability to see the future… at least that one time. Because if she did, then Astoria had taken so much more from Granger, far more than the stupid bitch could possibly imagine.

Rose and Hugo Weasley.

She supposed the names sounded pretty enough. Of course, now they were never going to exist, because Astoria had broken up their parents before they could even get together. She had taken their father and made him hers. She was never going to let him touch their filth of a mom, not with a ten-foot pole. In fact, Ron would be far more likely to assassinate the bitch on Astoria's orders than have children with her. And the best part was, Granger would never know the full extent of what Astoria took away from her forever, that by her actions she had killed her future children just as surely as if she had slit their throats.

Astoria Greengrass imagined somewhere far away, in all the potential futures that were never going to be, Hermione Granger, the first muggleborn Minister for Magic, was crying with anguish as her husband and children vanished and her entire reality dissolved into nothingness.