BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

43

In the morning, Draco is content that the charm worked. At least, they work and so he doesn't complain. Turning on one torch heats them all and causes them all to ignite, so even if it's in his pocket, he will feel the warmth of the change. I wonder to myself if I could right a note and slip it inside where the battery ought to be. The message would reach my family, but it would almost definitely enrage Draco if he were to discover it. His mood today is not unpleasant, and I wish that would stick.

Hermione watches over us again today. She finds it boring, since she is really supposed to be watching Draco more than me. She doesn't try to run any more diagnostic spells so there is little she can do to help me. Once again, she insists on having their friend Robbie come take a look at my head, and Draco shouts her down.

I find myself looking over the photos of my family once more, trying to see what is familiar. My face is recognizable. The haircuts I had were familiar. My clothes are outfits that I do remember wearing. I suppose my memories are foggier than I remember. There are things young women often remember that I do not. For example, I cannot think of what I was wearing when I went to my only school formal. Makeup wasn't something I remember ever wearing, though I suppose that might be because I didn't wear makeup, or because the makeup wasn't a memory worth recreating. The details of my siblings' lives are quite vague as well. Alfred had a child with a woman I don't remember. If Aaron ever had a girlfriend, I would be entirely shocked. I didn't see much of my mother, but perhaps that is because I was away at school.

So much of my life is similar, but not the same. Draco said that Theodore Nott did not know me well. Perhaps I knew him more than Draco thinks. While I don't know about magic, it is hard to imagine changing my memory without knowing it. Well, he could have done that same memory magic on me that Harry did when we first met. If Harry can see my memories, then certainly so could Theodore if he was skilled enough to look.

"Could Harry actually see the crack in my memory with legilimency, or was that a lie too?"

Draco looks up from his book. He has been taking notes with a quill of all things from a textbook. He closes the book, "it was a lie. Only a skilled legilimens would see the mistakes in your mind, and Harry is only learning."

"Harry only saw that you had a different set of memories than Marty," Hermione explains. "He was looking for himself, or Hogwarts, but found nothing. Even if he could find the crack, he wouldn't be able to destroy the changes without taking everything else down with him. At least, not as of now. Really, Draco, Robbie has been working with Lockhart to try and she has made some great progress-"

"No," Draco finishes. At least he doesn't practically scream this time.

Hermione huffs, turning back to her paperwork. Draco follows suit. There is not much left for me to do. Eventually, I ask Hermione to find me a book on improving muggle memories next time that she is out of the house. She already has one on her person.

I begin to read it and try to make a few decisions about it. They all seem to help make memories moving forward rather than building strength of recall. Still, I follow some of the activities. Well, I ask Hermione if I can get an instrument to play. Draco says he will pay for it. He insists upon something quiet and low-pitched to avoid shrill sounds if he is to be with me all the time. Hermione says they will go buy something tomorrow.

The other activities are manageable. I pace the room and do mental math, practicing multiplication and division and adding large numbers. Given that I never finished school, wizard or otherwise, I am quite good. Then, I attempt to map out the house on a piece of parchment. My body remembers how to use a quill even if my brain does not. Then, I map out Inverness as best as I can. I follow the river and pick all the stores I know. I find my flat and the inn I used to work in. After an hour, I redo the map and then compare them. They are quite similar, but now my head hurts.