My Heart Remembers Differently

Something I didn't know

Harry had not come back to the common room after our talk.  I had grabbed the books I had already browsed through and found nothing to help me with my parents' memory nor my own and took them back to the library.  On my way through the halls I passed a muttering Filch who glared at me as he stomped towards the stairwell with a mop bucket in hand.  Had he cleaned the whole castle by himself?  That was indeed a feat that could cause him to be grumpy if the battle was as bad as Ron had hinted. 

I was walking by a part of the castle that was still in the process of rebuilding when I walked through what felt like a blast of cold hair.

"Hermione, that was rude."  A familiar voice said .  I turned with surprise to see one of the Weasley twins standing at the wall with his hands on his hips.  Whether it was Fred or George I could never tell them apart.  He looked like he had just came out of a battle.  He was filthy with dirt on his face and his cloak torn.  A trickle of blood fell down his face.

"How am I rude?"  I asked.  Fred?  George?  Anyway, he looked shocked.

"You can see me?"  He asked excitedly.  I must of blinked because one second he was standing a few feet away and suddenly he was standing in front of me. 

"Of course, I can see...you..."  I realized that not only could I see him, but I could see straight through him to the broken wall.  "No."  I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Oh, now, don't be a girl, Hermione.  No tears."  The apparition said with a bit of disgust.

"Which one are you?"  I asked with a sob.  He rolled his eyes.

"You didn't know?  I saw you not a second after I died, Hermione.  You were trying to save Ron from getting himself killed.  You were there when the family was gathered around my broken body.  Why are you acting like my being dead is new to you?"  He asked angrily.

"I can't remember any of it."  I said trying to explain.  "I had an accident and a chunk of my memories are missing or locked away."  He looked at me with a familiar grin.

"This is no laughing matter!"  I stomped my foot.  Only one of the Weasley twins would consider their death and my loss of memories a great joke. 

"Ah, okay.  Calm down before you beckon Peeves down here."  The Weasley twin begged.  "For some reason, the silly poltergeist thinks I am trying to take his place here at Hogwarts.  Like I had anything to do with my death."  He scoffed and shook his head.

"How did you die?"  I asked, my heart beginning to pound in my heart. 

"Stupid curse rebounded and the wall came crashing down on top of me.  I literally didn't know what hit me.  One moment I was actually enjoying fighting along with Percy and then I was floating over the sight of him screaming for me and holding my lifeless body.  I was grinning, though.  I always wanted to laugh in Death's face."  He said a little more proudly than I consider normal.  Not that I had ever considered anything one of the Weasley twins had done to be normal.  He sobered for a moment as if lost in thought or memory.  "It was quite moving when George saw me and he was screaming for me to come back."  Fred.  Fred was the ghost talking to me.  He looked up at me and gave me a sad smile.  "I have to admit, Hermione.  I tried.  I tried everything.  Nothing worked for me to live.  I guess it was my time."  Fred said with a shrug.

"Oh, Fred."  I whispered and tears fell down my face.  He frowned and shook his head.

"That will never do, Hermione.  You can't flood the hallways with your tears.  A lot of us were killed during the war.  Most of the others have gone on.  I didn't want to.  I really wanted to hang out and see if we won."  Fred explained and looked around the empty hall.  "Death is bloody boring, Hermione.  I miss George.  I miss Mum's cooking and her mixing up me up with George.  I had some damn good ideas for the joke shop and now all that is over."  Fred began to fade.

"Fred, wait."  I called.  His essence brightened when he looked at me.  "Why are you here and not with George?"  I asked. 

"I don't know.  I tried to leave with the family, but something blocked me.  You are the first person who has actually noticed me except for Peeves, who really isn't a person and maybe Professor Trelawney.  I an not sure she actually saw me, but she did mutter about the chills of death or some nonsense.  That one was always a bit off her rocker."  Fred said.  I didn't disagree with him.  She was my least favorite professor in all of my years here at Hogwarts and I had Snape for all six years. 

"Wait.  Whatever happened to Snape?"  I asked.  As soon as I asked the question a vision of a bleeding Snape flashed across my mind.  I cried out and grabbed my head because with the vision came a blinding headache.

"Bloody hell, Hermione.  What is it?"  Fred asked.  I inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before the pain receded.

"I think I had a memory."  I said still rubbing my temple.  I looked up at Fred.  "Is Snape dead?"  I asked both excited and apprehensive of Fred's answer.

"Yeah.  Turns out he was a good guy the whole time."  Fred said with a shrug.  I frowned.

"He killed Dumbledore."  I reminded him.  Fred frowned at me.

"You really did lose your memories.  Dumbledore was dying.  It was all a plan to get Voldemort to trust Snape again so that he would pull him into the inner circle of the Death Eaters."  Fred explained.  I was the one who looked confused.

"Have you seen Harry Potter today?"  I asked.  Fred crossed his arms.

"I may have been listening in on the meeting between him and McGonagall."  Fred said with a sly grin.  "What do you want to know?"  He asked.

"I want to know what he is keeping from me.  I want to know what happened to me and why I can't remember what I can't remember!"  I almost shouted.  Fred held up his hand as if to stop my boiling emotions and looked up and down the hall.

"I told you not to get emotional.  Peeves is trying to get rid of me."  Fred said just before he disappeared and I heard the screech of the resident poltergeist. 

I hurried away from the crumbled wall and found myself at the revolving staircase of the headmistress.  Instead of the golden phoenix that had been the guardian for Dumbledore, there was now a scholarly-looking feline wearing bifocals and a Gryffindor scarf around its neck as it read a textbook.  Annoyed eyes lifted to mine.

"Password."  The statue demanded.

"I don't know the password.  Could you please let Headmistress McGonagall know that Hermione Granger would like to make an appointment to speak to her?"  I asked.  The cat blinked slowly and then grew still.  I waited for a moment until I realized that the statue was once again immobile.  I sighed and turned to leave. 

I needed to breathe clean air.  I decided to go outside and get out of the castle away from ghosts, poltergeists, and cat statues that ignored me.  I walked to the doors that lead into the courtyard and was happy that it was a warm, sunny day.  My excitement grew when I noticed two large shapes working on a half-built hut.  I hurried down the hill to where Hagrid and his half-brother Grawp were stacking huge stones one on top of the other.