Obliviate -the lost week (Harmione)

Α and Ω

They walked side-by-side along the castle, now emptied of dead bodies, whose same absence reminded them of their losses. The floor had naked places where big stains of blood could still be seen, and corners with irregular islands of splinters. The empty plinths where suits of armors used to be, reinforced the acute perception of change, of loneliness. But there was comfort in being in solitude together. They didn't speak. Too tired. Too hurt. Just Ron had returned downstairs, not able to leave his family alone, now.

Hermione had no family, and Harry suddenly had too many people to attend to.

For the first time, she thought of telling him. Not that she remembered much, most of the details were now –had been for a while- silvery blue gas-liquid twisting in a phial at the bottom of her magically enlarged purse; but the witch hadn't been obliviated still, therefore her mind retained the map, the empty places where those particular memories fit.

'He has a right to know', the ginger-haired teen thought, without a shadow of doubt.

And she kept walking, in silence.

Consequences. As much as the girl despised herself for that, she had had to think in a calculating way, much as Dumbledore had at his times. Consequences now were somehow different than before. The violent splitting of the golden trio was no longer a threaten to their mission, and therefore to the world, since it was –against all odds- already accomplished; but the memory of the three of them in the headmaster's office –maybe, for the last time- filled her with nostalgia, and as much as she knew everything would change now, she wasn't eager to cause the change, or more pain to the Weasleys, or to be the center of everyone's hate.

Ginny. The younger witch was now wrecked, his favorite brother killed and the remaining twin, just a reminder of what was split and broken forever. The red-haired teen might now not think of having Harry out for a date; but as she healed, she would expect them to come together naturally, resuming from where they had left. Hermione knew the green-eyed wizard would like that too, very much. The idea of them together was so natural to Harry's female friend, that most of her rejoiced for him, and cringed to the thought of taking them apart.

He didn't know. Thankfully. No guilt: not hers nor his. The idea was relieving, and made her feel assured, and as cold as winter camping in south England.

If Harry knew, if he learned, he wouldn't give his future with Ginny another thought. He would stand by Hermione, much as he had walked into the forbidden forest not twenty-four hours earlier, to meet his death, because it was the right thing to do. Maybe he would do so willingly, because he was her friend, because he'd always stand by her –and she was tempted to think so, since he had left the dining room with them, not with Ginny-; but things were too mingled, there was no way to extricate his reasons once the decision was taken. And his decision was already written in stone, if Hermione told him, if she gave him back his memories. The girl wouldn't obliviate him again, nor could she control the spreading of news and the reaction of other people.

Ron. Hermione already regretted the impulse of prizing his momentary thoughtfulness. The part of her that had left her memories in the forest of Dean, had accepted it as the logic next step. She was with Ron, Harry was with Ginny, they lived happily ever after. Now, the witch worried over Harry's (over?) reaction to it.

"Harry..."

He looked at her, rings evident around his unusual eyes. He was listening.

"The Elder Wand... Why don't you keep its location to yourself, as you did with the stone?"

"I'm not telling it to anyone else" Harry answered, too tired to wonder her reasons to ask.

"Someone wise said once that the only way for a secret to stay secret, being shared by three people, is by two of them being dead" Hermione mentioned. They walked some meters before she clarified, in a whisper: "Ron knows".

For the briefest of moments, their eyes met, and the witch knew he understood. Ron's poor self-esteem was a big weakness, for him, for them. They might be nearly a couple now, but she wasn't blind, nor was she putting Harry –her friend too, equally valuable to her– at risk by not giving him this advice. Ron had left Harry alone at least two times, at delicate moments. Among the three Deathly Hallows, Ron had chosen the Elder Wand, even before they knew for a fact it existed; the longing in his voice just minutes ago when the object had been mentioned, had been soft but unmistakable to people who had known him for the third part of their lives; and the legendary power was an Expelliarmus away. And Ron, hurt, was not trustworthy. Harry couldn't remember a reason powerful enough for Ron to betray him (once again), even if just by disarming him, but Hermione knew of one.

"I'd rather trust" he answered simply.

While the fat lady turned, revealing the entrance to their common room, their arms brushed, and the girl was momentarily breathless.

"Harry" she stopped him once again, this time grabbing his hand.

He turned, obviously puzzled. Their closeness stirred the shadow of a memory she no longer had. The witch got over it quickly.

"You know you'll have to be extremely careful, for your death to break the Wand's power. No Auror training. Not even a friendly duel."

He sighed and nodded.

For a long, long time, they stayed there, just lingering.

Hermione was not used to secrecy with her friends, now secrets estranged her from both and it killed her. Harry had a right to know. However, there was no way of protecting him from the consequences of the truth, unless she retained it. Telling him or not, every decision would have consequences.

"Hermione" he whispered at last, just slightly closer to her, "is there something else you want to tell me?"

The girl looked into his eyes, and shook her head, dropping his hand.

She would just have to deal with consequences, at least until this all was over, until she could be obliviated herself. So she would, the witch knew, as she left Harry enter his dorm, unaware of her cursed gift.