Memories - Dramione story

Chapter 23

Draco's POV

I gave my hand to the thief to help him stand up. He looked at me for a long while before finally taking my hand and standing up. I couldn't see his expression. His reaction still confused me, but I understood that he was probably desperate for some reason. He was maybe trying to get out of some complicated situation and had thought that the keys could help him, but how did he know about them?

«What does this mean? Why did you do this?», I asked.

«You wouldn't be able to help me anyway if I told you», he answered.

«How did you know about the keys?», I questioned him.

The thief simply glared at me.

«I guess I'll need to explain anyway», he finally said before looking at his hand and starting to talk again.

«I had been cursed. I didn't really know about what exactly these were», he explained, pointing at the phials. 

«Why did you steal them if you didn't know what they were? How did you know about their existence?», I asked with a serious, but still soft tone. 

«I have seen a man from the ministry carry one about three years ago and spied on him. This is how I discovered that they were related to memory somehow. I had been asking for something that could help against my curse», he answered.

«Why didn't you go to St. Mongo's or to the Ministry of Magic to ask for help?», I asked, confused.

«I have always been thought not to ask for help», he said, throwing me deeper into confusion.

«Who told you not to ask for help?», I asked.

«The ones who held me captive as a child», he answered, looking at a spot on the floor, clearly trying to avoid my gaze.

He acted like a child. I didn't know who had cursed him, but he really needed help.

«Where are the ones who held you captive?», I asked, my voice calm.

«Dead», he answered, keeping his eyes on the floor.

This word sent a shiver down my spine. He had said it with such calm...

«There probably is someone who could help you at the ministry. I can put you in contact with someone who could possibly help, but I would like you to take the blood seals off this manor», I told him.

«I'll take them off anyway. I won't cause any more trouble. I asked for a way to take off the curse for years but found nothing. I doubt that anyone could help me», he said, his voice flat and empty.

We sat in silence for a while. I hadn't expected the thief's motif to be anything close to this...

«Draco?», I heard Hermione say.

I turned to look at her. She looked worried. 

«I need to go to Australia. I found the keys to my parents' memories», she explained. 

I looked at her, confused.

«Why Australia?», I asked.

«They live there... When I made keys to lock their memories, I used a bewitching charm to create fake memories so that they move to Australia. I had thought that they would be safer in Australia during the war...», she explained.

Logical enough...

«I'll come with you», I said, determined.

She looked at me and nodded. The thief stood up and started unsealing the manor. I found a fireplace and used it to communicate with Shacklebot. After only a couple of minutes, Aurors came to the manor and took the thief with them before going back to the ministry. Several other employees from the ministry came to put the keys in a safe place, although I was very skeptical at the idea, knowing that Gringotts was supposed to be one of the safest places. I was very curious to know how the thief had stolen the keys from Gringotts.

...

Hermione's POV

We stood in Australia in front of my parents' house. I felt very nervous. What if something went wrong? What if they wouldn't accept the keys?

I felt Draco's hand on my shoulder. 

«Do you want me to come with you?», he asked.

«I think I should do this by myself. We'll let you in when their memories will be back. If it works...», I answered, getting more and more nervous by the second.

«You'll never know if you don't try. Their memories are locked, but they probably will accept the keys anyway because their memories aren't erased», Draco said, trying to reassure me. 

He was right... Slowly, I started walking towards the door and knocked. After several seconds of waiting that seemed to last forever, the door opened and I saw my mom for the first time since what seemed to be centuries...

...

Draco's POV

I stood outside, not really knowing what to do, simply hoping that everything would be all right and that Hermione's parents would have their memories back. The front door of the house jerked open, immediately taking me out of my thoughts. Hermione appeared in the door frame,  a huge smile on her face.

«Draco, come in!», she said, seeming very happy and excited, to my biggest relief.

I walked over, before following her into the house, taking my shoes off at the entrance. I was nervous, but it wasn't the same kind of stress. It was a way better, more positive stress. 

The house was pretty modest and reminded me of my new house, that I shared with my mom. Only, it was even smaller. It was the first time I entered a house so small. It looked incredibly cozy and welcoming.

In the living room stood a man and a woman; Hermione's parents. They were both smiling. I could easily see the resemblance between them and Hermione. Greetings and presentations went quite fast. Everyone seemed happy. It felt like a dream, the kind of dream that could easily end up turning into a nightmare, but I knew that it wouldn't. I knew that we would finally have a moment of calm and peace.

Unfortunately, Hermione and I had to come back to Hogwarts. The holiday break would be in two weeks. We were already lucky that McGonagall had made an exception and accepted to let us go see Hermione's parents in Australia. In one day, we had had time to travel to three different continents. 

Our things had been moved back to the 8th graders' dormitories. We didn't have to sleep on armchairs to prevent ourselves from swallowing mandrake leaves, which made me very happy. As soon as we entered the common room, I flopped on a sofa, Hermione doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. We just sat, our eyes closed, enjoying the silence. I could literally feel happiness emanate from Hermione, and it made me very happy and relieved. The idea of not being able to talk to her parents ever again had been Hermione's biggest worry, and it finally wasn't something she would have to worry about anymore.