Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Harry Potter series. That credit goes to the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling. Go Jo! I also do not own some of the material used. Again that belongs to Jo and Warner Brothers.
Chapter 3 Recordings
To Ron and Hermione’s surprise, mostly Hermione’s, her mother and father had not only allowed Ron to stay, but they had given him the spare room.
“I can’t believe they offered you the spare room,” Hermione said as she and Ron made their way up the stairs to the room.
Ron laughed as he reached for the doorknob.
“Me nether,” he said.
They both gasped when they saw the state of the room. One of the conditions was that it needed to be cleaned. It needed to be more than cleaned in Ron and Hermione’s opinion. Ron began to reach for his wand, but stopped himself. It then occurred to him that he hadn’t taken it out since he arrived. His self conscious had apparently known something was up before he did.
“I’ll be back with a duster,” Hermione said, eyes still wide.
Ron only nodded as she walked out. Even though Mr. and Mrs. Granger had allowed for him to stay, Ron knew that Mrs. Granger had immediately regretted the decision.
“What’s this?” Ron wondered out loud.
Ron came across a recorder while clearing the desk. He unconsciously pressed play, not really knowing how he knew that the symbol meant play. His eyes grew as Hermione’s voice came out.
“I’m going to the Quidditch World Cup with Ron’s family. It should be interesting,” Hermione said.
Ron smiled and pressed the forward button, again not really knowing how he knew. That wasn’t a happy memory to say the least, but it had been interesting. He pressed play again as he opened the closet door. Ron was shocked to see Hermione’s school trunk there, her wand lying on top of it. This was weird. Maybe she just didn’t like using magic in front of her parents.
“I’m utterly and hopelessly in love with him, but he doesn’t seem to feel the same way. Ron can be a bit blind sometimes…” Hermione went on.
Ron quickly pressed stop. He couldn’t bear to listen to Hermione during the time he was with Lavender. Ron picked up a picture that lay next to the recorder and smiled. It was of him, her, and Harry at Grimmuald Place their fifth year. He quickly put it down as he heard the door open.
“Hermione…” Ron began.
She held up the duster and smiled.
“Shall we begin?” Hermione asked.
Ron shook away his thoughts. So Hermione’s trunk was in the closet with all her other school things? But Ron couldn’t bring himself to ask anything. It was like something inside of him was telling him not to.
“Um… yes,” he said.
Hermione noticed Ron began acting strangely.
“Are you all right, Ron?” she asked.
“This is all very new for me,” he admitted.
Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek.
“It’s all new for me too. So, let’s just take this one step at a time,” she said.
Ron gave her a puzzled look.
“What made you do a complete turn around?” he asked.
Ron couldn’t help but laugh as he remembered how Hermione had suggested that he sneak up to her room after her parents went to sleep.
“I was just really over excited you were here,” Hermione said.
Ron continued to laugh as he walked a couple of steps closer to Hermione.
“I hope all the excitement hasn’t gone away,” he said.
Hermione looked down and laughed. She hoped Ron wouldn’t notice the hint of red that had appeared on her cheeks.
“Don’t worry. It hasn’t,” Hermione said, her cheeks feeling even warmer now.
xxx
A couple of days had past since the spare bedroom had been cleared out. After listening to the recording over and over again, it was all Ron could think about. For a brief moment, he had forgotten that he was walking with Hermione down her street. The looks Hermione’s parents had been giving them were freaking the both of them out. So, they decided to take a walk.
“I’ve missed you,” Hermione said.
Ron had been thinking so hard that he was surprised that he had heard Hermione.
“Me too,” he smiled.
The two were now turning into Hermione’s drive. It was at this point that Ron vowed to discover the meaning for these recordings. He could simply ask Hermione, but something kept pulling him away from that. Ron wanted so badly to walk up to her parents and demand to know what was going on, but he knew it would be a lost cause.
xxx
Hermione was sitting in the living room, messing with her hair, when Ron walked in. It had been two days since Ron had decided to he was going to figure out what was going on, and he hadn’t gotten anywhere. He kept listening to the recordings, but nothing was coming to him.
“Can you believe it’s been almost two months since we graduated?” Hermione asked, suddenly stopping playing with her hair.
Ron half smiled. Inside though, he was screaming. There was something definitely wrong about this.
“Harry and I didn’t go back to Hogwarts like you did,” Ron said, trying to act like he wasn’t about to explode.
He began to hurt as the need to yell increased. He wouldn’t have even been surprised if his face was blood red at this point. Hermione didn’t look alarmed, so he assumed the color of his face was still normal.
“Hogwarts?” Hermione asked.
That did it for Ron.
“Okay, something is wrong here,” Ron thought to himself.
He noticed that Hermione was looking at him strangely.
“You don’t remember?” Ron asked.
Hermione, who was getting frustrated, got up and left the room. And then it hit Ron like a Bludger. It all made perfect sense… the way Hermione’s parents acted around him… the recorder in the spare bedroom he had been listening to every night. Ron didn’t want to accuse Hermione’s parents of anything just yet, but it was looking like they had gotten their daughter to forget all about the Wizarding World. He had to get out… to think how he was going to face this. It was at this point he wished he had brought Pig with him. Again, it looked like his self conscious had known something he hadn’t.
“I’ll be back,” Ron called to Hermione from the hall and left.
He needed to think. Getting fresh air seemed the best thing to do.
xxx
Mrs. Granger was at the front door, waiting for Ron, when he got back. He took a deep breath and walked up to her. Ron had decided that there was only one thing he could do. He’d tell Hermione she was a witch and go from her reaction.
“You can’t tell her,” Mrs. Granger said.
Ron looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes.
“She needs to know,” he said.
“And why must she know?” Mrs. Granger asked him.
Ron remained quiet. Mrs. Granger’s eyes widened.
“Well, answer me,” she demanded.
Ron slowly looked up at her. Her look frightened him. Had she and Mr. Granger secretly hated that their daughter was a witch so much that they’d do anything to make her forget?
“She needs me,” Ron said.
xxx
Ron had decided not to say anything to Hermione just yet. Mrs. Granger’s words had delayed him. It wasn’t until the second day of this silence that Ron decided he didn’t care what Hermione’s mother thought. He was going to tell Hermione the truth. Hermione smiled as Ron entered her room.
“Hermione, you’re a witch,” Ron bluntly said.
Hermione whirled around and came at him.
“How can you say that?” she yelled.
Ron had been expecting this, but it still shocked him enough to back away one step.
“You have to believe me,” he said.
“Get out,” Hermione snapped.
It wasn’t until Ron left her room that he realized why she had been so upset. In the Muggle World, being called a witch was an insult. Why had his father’s words come too late to stop him? Ron knocked of the bathroom door when he heard Hermione crying thirty minutes later.
“Hermione?” he asked.
“What?” she sobbed.
He walked in to find her having trouble taking off her shirt.
“I’m sorry. It came out wrong,” Ron apologized.
Hermione let out an aggravated sigh.
“I hate these damn buttons,” she said. “Do you mind?”
Ron’s eyes grew.
“Right, I shouldn’t be in here,” he said.
He turned back from the door as Hermione began laughing.
“What?” Ron asked.
“I meant do you mind helping me undo these?” Hermione asked, pointing to the buttons.
She laughed more at the look on Ron’s face. He swallowed hard and then nodded.
“What you said to me hurt,” Hermione said as Ron moved behind her. “You don’t have to say anything right now, but I do want to talk about this.”
Ron nodded after finishing and left.
xxx
Later on that night, Ron was able to sneak into Hermione’s room. He decided that she needed to hear the recordings.
“Ron…” Hermione began, a little shocked to see him.
He had never done this since he had gotten to her house. Hermione looked down at the recorder in confusion as Ron closed the door quietly.
“I want you to listen to this,” Ron said.
Ron sat down next to Hermione on her bed and pressed play. Hermione’s eyes grew as the sound of her voice started coming out of it.
“I just finished my fourth year at Hogwarts. This has to be the mentalist year yet. It so happens that Harry had to compete in the Triwizard Tournament the school had. I can’t really explain everything. It’d take too much time. In the end, Cedric Diggory was killed. To mine, Ron, Harry, and everyone else’s horror, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned,” the recorder Hermione said.
Ron paused it and looked at Hermione’s shocked face.
“See what I meant?” he asked.
Hermione had to cover her mouth for a moment.
“I… how did… how could all this knowledge just simply disappear?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Ron said.
He took the recorder, got up, and headed back for the door.
“Ron,” Hermione called.
“Yes?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and looked down.
“Don’t go, please. Stay with me tonight,” Hermione said.
They spent most of the night listening to the recordings.
xxx
Ron woke up the next morning, but didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want last night to have been a dream. His eyes bolted open when he heard Hermione sigh. He knew now who could help her. Ron jumped out of Hermione’s bed, causing her to wake up.
“Ron, what’s going on?” Hermione asked as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
He had gotten up so fast she thought something bad had happened.
“I’ll tell you on the way, but we have to leave now,” Ron said.
She still didn’t get out of bed as Ron began putting on his shoes.
“Please, if you ever trusted me, trust me now,” Ron begged.
Hermione sighed and got out of bed.
xxx
Before Ron and Hermione knew it, they were on the train to Hogwarts. Ron hadn’t been one hundred percent sure if Hermione would be able to make it through platform nine and three quarters. He was happy that it had worked. The fact that it happened to be September the first didn’t hurt things either.
“Ron, will you please tell me what’s going on?” Hermione asked.
He looked from the window to Hermione. There was a longing in her eyes.
“We’re going to Hogwarts. There has to be a reason for why you don’t remember,” Ron said.
It was dark by the time they arrived.
“Come on,” Ron whispered.
He took Hermione’s hand and snuck off the train without being seen.
“Where are we going to sleep?” Hermione asked.
Ron looked up at a sign that said Hogsmead and began walking in that direction.
“The Three Broomsticks,” he finally said.
Hermione lifted her head up slightly.
“Oh, okay,” she said, having no idea what the name meant.
Hermione decided Ron knew what he was doing and stopped asking questions.
xxx
The next day, Ron and Hermione made their way to the castle. Some of the staff that remembered them had greeted them, leaving Hermione even more confused. Ron knew exactly who they needed to see. It took much begging from Ron to Hagrid for him to give them the password to Professor McGonagall’s office.
“Come in,” the familiar voice said.
Ron nervously opened the door.
“Good morning, Professor McGonagall,” he smiled
Hermione was standing there next to Ron, words failing to come out. There was a portrait of an old man directly in the back of Professor McGonagall’s desk that looked familiar to Hermione. She gasped when she saw the old man move.
“Mr. Weasley… Miss Granger, this is indeed a surprise,” Professor McGonagall smiled.
Hermione’s eyes grew. She was surprised that this woman knew her. After all, Hermione didn’t know who this woman that was standing in front of her and Ron was. Professor McGonagall, noticing this reaction from Hermione, looked over at Ron. She had heard Hermione’s gasp, but had contributed it to the man rather than the fact that it was moving.
“Professor, I don’t know why or how, but Hermione has lost her memory of here,” Ron said.
Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione and smiled at her. Ron figured that she was trying to stay calm for Hermione’s sake.
“Will you excuse us, dear?” Professor McGonagall asked.
Hermione nodded and walked out of the room, though Ron could tell she was a bit hesitant to leave his side.
“What…” Ron began as Professor McGonagall turned back from the door.
“Miss Granger can still see Hogwarts. There’s still time,” Professor McGonagall said.
Ron’s eyes leveled. He didn’t know how serious this actually was.
“Professor, can you please tell me what’s going on?” Ron asked.
She took a deep breath and looked down. This didn’t look good to Ron.
“Miss Granger has lost all knowledge of the Wizarding World, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall said.
“What?” Ron gasped.
It hadn’t hit Ron that Hermione had lost her entire memory of being a witch. He thought it was just of Hogwarts and her schooling.
“Miss Granger’s case is unique though,” Professor McGonagall said as she walked over back to her desk.
“How?” Ron asked.
He kept glancing over at the portrait of Dumbledore, wishing he were still alive. Dumbledore remained quiet and smiled.
“Muggleborns will lose everything they know of being a witch or wizard, eventually including their magic, once they’re in the Muggle World after leaving here. However, if he or she stays and or marries, nothing will change,” Professor McGonagall said.
Ron unconsciously put his hand over his pocket.
“Miss Granger, however, doesn’t seem to be a full Muggle,” Professor McGonagall said.
“What do you mean?” Ron asked.
He had always known that Hermione’s parents were Muggles and that she had no other relatives that knew magic.
“It seems like Miss Granger is like an eleven year old finding out for the first time that she’s a witch,” Professor McGonagall said.
“So…” Ron began, really not understanding what to do about it. “All I got to do is make sure Hermione stays this time?”
“There’s a good chance that Miss Granger can regain the knowledge back,” Professor McGonagall told him.
“What needs to be done?” Ron asked.
“She must enter the Pensieve. While in there, memories that were thought to be lost will be regained,” Professor McGonagall said.
Ron glanced over at the cauldron.
“After, she must stay with you, Mr. Weasley. This is very important. She left too quickly this last time,” Professor McGonagall said.
He took a deep breath as Professor McGonagall put a hand on his shoulder.
“Whatever is the matter, Mr. Weasley?” Professor McGonagall asked.
Ron looked at his former professor, a kind if sadness in his eyes.
“She knew about this, didn’t she?” he asked. “I mean… there were recordings I found. It was like a diary on tape.”
“I believe Miss. Granger knew something,” Professor McGonagall nodded, “though I do not believe she knew everything.”
“I’ll make her stay,” Ron vowed.
Professor McGonagall started towards the door as Ron’s head fell.
AN:
I have a little free right now, so I’m trying to do this as fast as I can, which probably isn’t the best thing…