Legilimens [Dramione]

You're not Alone

Draco waited as Harry and Theo talked to the nurse at St. Mungo's. The sounds all around became louder and louder in his ears, and his heart did not stop beating as the words that had left the woman's mouth continued to reverberate in his head. 

No, Hermione Granger is not our patient at the moment, she had said. 

Hermione wasn't there. Yet he had been so sure. But if Hermione wasn't at St. Mungo's, where else could she be?

He could hear a growing ringing in his ears, and the lights in the hospital entrance hall seemed too bright. His eyes were burning. He forced himself not to be distracted, concentrating on what the woman was still saying. 

"We had two patients," she said, her voice steady and her face in a friendly smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, muggles. They were discharged last week."

"Discharged?" Theo's voice, despite his effort, let a little apprehension ooze out, and did not appear as casual as it should have. The boy coughed to correct himself. "Who came for them?" 

The woman flicked her gaze between the two, lingering on the serious face of the boy who survived, as well as Auror. "I can only reveal this information to the patients' relatives. Unless this is an investigation, in which case I should see a warrant."

Harry leaned back on the small desk, his hands crossed and his lips folded into a smile. "We were hoping not to get to the point where it would be necessary to open a case against the hospital." 

The woman swallowed, and her trembling hands betrayed the false confidence with which she presented herself.  

"Because then it won't just be us, but an entire ministry team. Aurors, detectives, the newspapers-"

The woman set about handling some of the folders in her hand. "Mr Potter, I know you can be trusted." 

Her dark eyes darted back and forth down the corridor, and the boy who survived leaned further over the counter so that the woman could almost whisper in his ear. Draco strained to hear as much as possible despite the distance.

"We have been sending Miss Granger warnings for some time now. Unfortunately, all attempts to restore her parents' memories have failed." 

The expression on Potter's face was surprised, though he immediately tried to mask it. 

"They have been residing here for almost a year now. We can no longer keep them. But Miss Granger never signed the discharge form."

"And who did it?"

"The doctor who had been treating them." The woman flipped through a set of paperwork, then frowned. "Actually, one of his deputies, from what I read here." 

Theo leaned over the counter with Harry. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Dr. Friedrich, the memory spell specialist, sent someone to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

Harry inhaled deeply, clasping his hands behind the counter. "Were you on duty when they were discharged?"

"N-no," the woman said. 

"All right." Harry finally rose from the counter, "Thank you for your help, may I count on your discretion?" 

The nurse nodded softly, turning one last wary glance at the two Slytherins as they left. 

The plan was simple. Or at least that was what Theo claimed after he had even managed to convince Potter of the extreme feasibility of it. Draco, however, was struggling more and more to be optimistic as the hours went by.  

They had hidden under Potter's incredible invisibility cloak. Theo and Harry, at least. Given his reluctance to optimism, in fact, Draco had been forced to remain hidden behind the trunk of a tree. For Salazar, those two together were unbearable.