Lost Pieces

Chapter One

It was one of the worst rainstorms Harry had ever seen. Rain fell in sheets that blew over the bay, reminding him forcefully of the flailing limbs of the Whomping Willow. The thunder was a constant low rumbling that never seemed to relent. Nothing within a hundred yards of the hotel window could be discerned with any real credibility.

Ron and Hermione were sharing the small couch in the sitting area of their hotel room pouring over the final details of the plan. Hermione had confirmed the day before that her parents were indeed here in Sydney, running a small practice out of a medical pavilion not far from where they were. They lived in a modest condo overlooking the bay directly across from them.

"Okay, let's go over it one last time." Hermione was jittery and had gone over the plan with them at least a dozen times since they had arrived in Australia two days previously.

"Give it a rest Hermione, we know the plan. You need to relax." Ron whined next to her.

"Relax?! How exactly am I supposed to relax Ronald!" she snapped back.

"Okay, okay, one last time, where do we start?" Harry attempted to defuse the situation by giving Hermione one last time to go through the plan.

"Okay. We're going to take a bus to their condo tomorrow when the Wilkins' have returned from work." She had taken to calling them by the fake names she herself had provided them. Harry thought it helped her focus without reminding herself that it was her own parents she was talking about.

"Ron, you and Harry are going to pretend to work for the company that they bought the condo from checking up on their satisfaction. I will be with you under the Invisibility Cloak. Hopefully, knowing the Wilkins', they will invite you inside. This will allow me to slip in unnoticed. All you have to do at that point is to get them both seated and facing you. I will then lift the memory charm. Then, well, we play it by ear."

Hermione hadn't lost the manic look in her eyes. Harry felt so powerless to help her; he had rarely seen her this way, like she was about to come apart at the seams and explode.

It was then that he had an idea. Ron would have to be quick on the uptake, but he trusted his friend to be up to the task.

"Hey Ron, maybe you should take her out for some fresh air and I'll brew some tea. You do need to at least try to relax Hermione."

While Hermione didn't seem to register how ridiculous a notion going outside in this storm was, Ron certainly did. Harry shot Ron a meaningful look, moving his eyes from his face to Hermione's handbag and back. His friend was not one to disappoint, picking up on Harry's plan beautifully.

"Come on Hermione, up you get." Ron placed an arm under Hermione and tried to get her standing up. Hermione stood like a zombie and followed Ron's prodding out the door and towards the elevator.

With them gone, Harry took out his wand and pointed it to her handbag. "Accio potions!"

Four different vials flew from Hermione's bag towards Harry who, with the true talent of Hogwarts' youngest seeker in a century, caught them effortlessly. Harry recognized the purple liquid of dreamless sleep potion in a larger vial that was nearly empty. She had clearly used most of her stock during their holiday on the Continent.

Harry took the vial to the small kitchen in the lobby downstairs and spiked Hermione's tea with the last portion. He knew what she needed more than anything was some rest for her mind.

Returning to the room he only waited for about five minutes before Ron and Hermione returned in the midst of a heated argument.

"They may never get their memories back Ron! What if I mess up the spell?! What if they get their memories back and hate me! That might even be worse! So STOP telling me to calm down! I will not calm down! Just because they won't be your in-laws doesn't mean that you should be so flippant about their fate! What about me Ron! How do you think I feel?!"