What Should Have Been

{4}

Hermione was nestled into a tall-backed chair, the fabric beneath her coddling the ache she felt from the day's happenings.

All the emotions, the new information, the fact she was supposed to be marrying?! It was bizarre to her that such a thing had happened, that seven years after fighting for her life, she was now stuck there, in that spot of her memory where there was no Severus Snape from the past four years! Four years of memories, good times with friends, a marriage that wasn't her own! Guilt plagued her in forgetting Harry and Draco's wedding even if right then she didn't trust the blond, or if she couldn't help it. Obviously that was no fault of her own, but with not getting to know Malfoy, she had to suffer through still having a bit of distaste for him.

Truly, that was the situation, Hermione was helpless, and the feeling hadn't ever been more dissatisfying. The unsettled feeling in her heart and that nagging tug in her mind that forced her to remember something she couldn't was quite nearly painful. Not remembering things for her was similar to keeping a dragon locked up. There was fury in a caged dragon, and frustration grasped at her heels as she attempted to recollect at least something from the prior four years. Still, however, nothing came up.

It certainly wasn't that Hermione didn't want to try, she wanted her memory back and to know all the things that she could. The hole in her mind was large, and frustrating, and by Merlin she hoped it would one day be fixed.

A knock came to her door suddenly, and with the heaviest sigh she could muster, Hermione braced her arms on the chair and stood. The hard floors below her made it easy to become rather cold away from cocoon in the chair she'd created.

Hermione knew who was at her door... Harry and Ginny had told her that this was going to happen and that it was her duty to speak with them, to explain what had happened. She simply didn't want to.

"Hello, Mum! Hello, Dad!" Hermione greeted as happily as she could.

"Hello, darling, where is Ginny? Isn't she supposed to be helping you get ready?" Her mother immediately began to wonder, setting large bags down that Hermione could only wonder what they contained.

"Uh, something's come up, actually,"

"And what is that?" Her father joined in, curiously furrowing his brows until malice took over, "That man hasn't called it off, has he?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, Sna—Severus and I have forgotten the past four years of our lives." There. She'd said it.

And her parents truly looked mortified at such a prospect.

"You're serious now, Hermione, yes?" Her mother wondered with a bit of a grimace.

"Yes, mum. I'm sorry, but I shan't be getting married today."

"We understand that, Hermione dear," her father said and then embraced her, seeing the glossiness of her eyes and the shame that plagued such a brilliant witch. "And were so sorry to hear that."

The Granger's shared a passing glance and knew right away that their strong witch wasn't herself... they could feel her off putting aura, even as the muggles they were. They just hoped that someone was doing something to help Hermione heal.

The paid was happy to find out later that Harry had started an investigation that day and would pursue more tomorrow, and they were also pleased to know her friends were a call away. Right then, however, they knew she needed her parents. So the Granger's stayed with Hermione until the evening had passed, and it was time for them to retire.