Promise You Won\'t Forget Me

~Chapter 3: Dead Man Walking~

Hermione jumped up and ran over to the man, who was talking to his friends. Harry pulled himself up and ran after her.

She grabbed the man and turned him around. He looked at her confusedly.

"Ron! Ron, oh, it´s you! Don´t you recognize me?" she cried.

The man who looked like Ron looked helplessly at Harry.

"I´m sorry, but I don´t think we´ve met," he said in confusion.

Hermione stared at him in disbelief. Tears formed in her eyes and her lips trembled.

"I´m, I´m sorry," she said, her voice shaking. "I, I have to go."

Sobbing, she ran away. The man looked at Harry and shrugged. "I´m sorry, what did I say?"

Harry sighed and watched the retreating figure of Hermione. "It´s not your fault. She thought you were someone you´re not. I think she was really hoping you were."

"Oh," the red-haired man looked at his feet. "Gee, I´m sorry. She seemed really upset."

Harry nodded. "I´m Harry Potter."

The other man shook his hand. "I´m Ron Carmichael."

"Ron?" Harry said, startled. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, that was his name too."

Ron shook his head. "I´m sorry to have upset her."

Harry sighed again. "Don´t worry. I´m going to talk to her. It was nice to meet you."

"You too, Harry," Ron replied. He then went back to his conversation. Harry returned to the pool where Alexa and Claudia were waiting with worried expressions.

"What was that all about, Harry?" Claudia asked. Harry shook his head sadly.

"Did Hermione mention someone by the name of Ron Weasley to you?" he asked.

Alexa nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Because she thought that was him. It wasn´t. I need to go talk to her, so I´ll see you later."

Claudia waved. "See you at dinner, Harry."

Harry found his way to Hermione´s room and knocked on the door. He heard muffled sobs from within. He knocked again and after a minute the door creaked open. Hermione stood there in her robe, her eyes red and puffy, a tissue clutched in her hand. She sniffled and threw herself into his arms.

"Oh, Harry, I really thought that was him!" she cried into his shoulder. He patted her hair awkwardly. When he peered into the other room he saw that the bed was littered with used tissues.

"It´s alright, Herm," Harry said soothingly. "It was just a mistake, that´s all."

She pulled away. "But you don´t understand! I wanted it to be him, so badly. I really thought..." She trailed off.

Harry guided her over to a chair. "Hermione, please. Let´s discuss this."

Hermione wiped her eyes and looked at him. "I thought you said you never wanted to talk about Ron´s disappearance. Ever."

Harry shrugged. "Yes, well, it´s really bothering you, so let´s talk."

He brushed off the bed and sat down. After a moment Hermione sat down next to him. She wiped her face and snuffled.

"We don´t know what happened to him, Harry," she said finally. "He could still be alive. No body was ever found. But what bothers me the most is how we could have let this happen. We abandoned him, Harry. We didn´t even try to save him."

Harry was taken aback. "What do you mean we didn´t try? We searched for years."

Hermione hung her head. "Do you know what bothers me the most? I saved you, Harry. If I hadn´t woken up in the middle of the night, just knowing something was wrong, we would never have gotten to you in time. But I didn´t save Ron."

Harry gaped at her. "How could you have? He just disappeared, Hermione! No one could have done anything."

"But I´m me," Hermione said desolately. "The smart one, the clever one, the one who was supposed to figure out all the problems. And I failed."

Harry placed an arm around her shoulders. "Herm, it´s not your fault. You can´t blame yourself."

Hermione acted as if she didn´t hear him. "I was so angry with him. I was furious that he could just up and leave without a goodbye. I swore to myself that if he owled, I wouldn´t respond. But then there weren´t any owls. And I realized he wasn´t coming back."

"Hermione," Harry started, but she interrupted him.

"Do you know how hard it is for me to go to the Burrow? To talk to his parents, his brothers? They all remind me of him. It hurts so much just to look at them. I can´t even spend too much time with Ginny without thinking of him. I burst into tears every time I step into that house." Her eyes watered. She looked at Harry. "What´s wrong with me? It´s been five years and I still can´t accept it. I´m accosting complete strangers! What is it, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "He meant a lot to you, Hermione. He meant a lot to me, too. And there´s been no closure. We can´t say for sure he´s dead. That´s what´s bothering you so much. You need to let go. We have to face facts; if Ron hasn´t returned after five years, he´s not going to."

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to stop crying. "I guess you´re right. I guess I really wanted that man to be Ron. Did you explain my behavior?"

Harry nodded. "He said his name is Ron Carmichael. You know, it´s strange, he sounded like he had a very light British accent."

Hermione´s head snapped up. "His name is Ron? Are you sure?"

"Yes," Harry said, raising one eyebrow. "But his last name isn´t Weasley."

Hermione was lost in thought. "I´m going to change for dinner and get myself cleaned up. Go tell Alexa and Claudia I´ll see them at dinner."

Harry allowed himself to be pushed out of the door. Once he was gone, Hermione started to clean off her bed. Once all the tissues were gone, she stepped into the shower and allowed the hot water to wash her troubles away.

But one lingered. That man, the one who looked exactly like Ron. Who was he really? Was it simply a coincidence? Or was there more to it than that? One thing was for sure, she had to find out more about this Ron Carmichael, no matter how much it might hurt. And it would. Because of the memories.

"Hermione!" Ron called. "Come on, my parents want to talk to you!"

She ran over to where all of the Weasleys were standing proudly around Ron, their newest Hogwarts graduate. She tripped over her graduation robes, but caught herself and joined Harry and the Weasleys.

"Oh, Hermione, you look lovely," Molly said, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. "It was such a lovely ceremony. I can´t believe you´ve all graduated!" She started crying again.

"Aw, Mum," Ron said, groaning good-naturedly. "You´ll flood the place. Stop those tears."

"I just can´t believe it," Molly sobbed. "You-Know-Who finally gone, the three of you grown up and graduated, out in the world."

Arthur put an arm around his wife comfortingly. "Come now, Molly, we owe a debt of gratitude to these three young people. They defeated You-Know-Who and saved us all. I´m sure that there´s nothing the three of them together cannot do."

Hermione was surprised to find that tears had sprung to her eyes. "I´m just glad that we´re all alive."

Harry regarded her solemnly. "We were lucky."

Ron smiled. "Come now, Harry," he said, imitating his father´s words to his mother. "Luck had nothing to do with it. We defeated You-Know-Who and saved them all. It was pure skill. Not to mention, we had each other."

"We had each other," Hermione echoed. "Yes. But Ron, that in itself is lucky. I suppose in an odd way, we can attribute Voldemort´s final downfall to Quirrel."

Everyone gaped at her including Harry. Ron didn´t, he simply looked at her.

"Why do you say that, Mione?" Ron asked. His deep brown eyes were focused intently on her.

"Because if Quirrel hadn´t let that troll into the castle on Halloween in our first year, we would never have become friends. Without us, Ron, Harry never could have defeated Voldemort."

They were staring at each other intently now, and silence had descended upon the group. Harry was the first to break that silence by clearing his throat.

"Ahem, I believe that I´m the one who defeated Voldemort when I was only a year old. I think that I was perfectly capable of doing it on my own." He folded his arms and looked disgruntled.

Everyone dissolved into laughter.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Then she slipped into a purple dress and fixed her hair. Once she was finished there was no sign of her breakdown and she felt well enough to go to dinner. She made sure that her safe was locked and left.

Just as she was leaving her room, the man she mistook for Ron Weasley was leaving his, which happened to be a few doors down from hers. When he saw her he came over.

"Excuse me, miss, but I just wanted to apologize."

Hermione was taken aback. "You have nothing to apologize for. It was my fault, I thought you were someone else."

"Yes, your boyfriend explained that."

"Boyfriend?" Hermione repeated confusedly. "Oh, you mean Harry. He´s not my boyfriend, he´s just a friend."

"I´m Ron Carmichael," he said. "What´s your name?"

"Hermione Granger," she said with a small smile. "I really am sorry for my behavior earlier. There´s a long story behind it."

"Maybe you could tell it to me sometime," Ron said with a warm smile. "I think your friend Harry, er, what´s his last name?"

"Potter," Hermione prompted.

"Right, Potter, I think he was telling me part of it. I wish I didn´t look like this. I´d hate to make you upset, especially since you´re trying to have a good time. So you´re traveling with friends? Me too. Only, I feel rather like the third wheel, my friends are recently married. They insisted I join them on this cruise, I don´t really know why, but I couldn´t refuse." Ron laughed.

Hermione was beginning to relax and feel charitable towards this obviously lonely young man. "Say, why don´t you join me and my friends for dinner? That way you can meet new people and give your friends a chance to spend time alone."

"Gee, that´s awfully nice of you," Ron said, "but won´t you and Harry be uncomfortable? I was planning to avoid you for the rest of the cruise."

Hermione laughed, but it was a bit forced. "Nonsense! If we´re going to be working together come September, we ought to get to know one another."

Ron shrugged. "Alright, if you insist. Shall we go?"

Together they walked to the dining room where Harry, Alexa, Claudia, and Jean Luc were seated around a table, chatting. Hermione approached them and beckoned for Ron to follow. She saw the startled look on Harry´s face as they sat down and shook her head emphatically.

"Everyone, this is Ron Carmichael. He´s going to sit with us. Ron, this is Alexa, Claudia, Jean Luc, and you´ve already met Harry."

Everyone said hello and Ron replied rather timidly, "Hello to you, too."

No one spoke much during dinner, but when they sat around having coffee, Hermione got a chance to pump Ron for information. Alexa had convinced Jean Luc to dance, and Claudia pulled Harry up as well, leaving Hermione and Ron alone.

"Tell me something about yourself, Ron," Hermione said encouragingly.

He was a trifle flustered. "Alright, if you really want to know. Er, I´m an only child. My parents died when I was just a baby, leaving me an orphan. I was sent to live with muggles, if you can believe that."

Hermione had paled. "Muggles?" she croaked.

Ron looked at her strangely. "Yes, my aunt, uncle, and horrible pig of a cousin. They´re muggles of the worst sort, I can tell you. Didn´t even know I was a wizard until I was eleven."

"You don´t say," Hermione said absently.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked with concern. "Did I say something wrong?"

Hermione started. "What? Oh, no, it´s nothing."

"Okay," Ron said, looking unconvinced. "Tell me something about you, and Hogwarts."

Hermione thought for a second. "Well, as for me, I´m muggleborn, an only child, and rather studious. Hogwarts is lovely. It´s a huge castle with towers and dungeons, the whole deal. It snows in the winter, making the castle look just like a Christmas card. There´s a lake with a giant squid and merpeople. The Great Hall is enormous, with four tables for the four different Houses."

"I read about those," Ron interjected. "Named after the four Founders, right?"

"Right. The students are very proud when they are Sorted. I was in Gryffindor myself, as was Harry."

They were interrupted at that moment by none other than Rita Skeeter who had the nerve to sit down at their table. She flashed a large smile at Ron, who stared back her in bewilderment.

"Well, isn´t this cute. The sidekicks," Rita said with false sweetness.

Hermione went rigid. Oh, how she loathed that woman. Rita Skeeter was responsible for one of the most miserable years of her life.

"You must be mistaken, ma´am," Ron said. "I´m afraid I don´t know you."

Rita looked mildly surprised. "Don´t recognize me? Perhaps the name Rita Skeeter will jog your memory."

Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged helplessly. "I´m afraid not. Should I recognize you?"

Now Rita was really confused. "You´re Mr. Weasley, are you not?"

"Oh," Ron said, now realizing what the problem was. "No, I´m not."

Rita turned her attention to Hermione. "What ever happened to him, Miss Granger? A colleague of mine told me he met with an accident. And I must say that this man here resembles Mr. Weasley a great deal."

Hermione spoke through clenched teeth. "I refuse to speak to such a horrible human being. You ruin people´s lives with your libelous articles. Get the facts straight for once, Skeeter. I loathe you." She noted the amusement in the reporter´s eyes and added, "And you can quote me on that."

Rita didn´t seem offended. On the contrary, she was pleased. "My dear, Miss Granger, I´m sorry if one of my articles in the past offended you, but that was many years ago, it´s water under the bridge."

"My bridge is closed for repairs," Hermione replied coldly. "I am no longer a powerless schoolgirl. If you dare write anything about me, Harry Potter, or Ron Weasley ever, I will make sure that you eat every copy. Good evening, Miss Skeeter, we have nothing left to discuss."

Rita said nothing and simply stood up to go. Just as she was leaving, she called over her shoulder, "You can try to keep me from writing all you wish, Miss Granger, but I have the answers to the questions you´re asking. There will be a day in the future when you´ll need my help, and you´ll wish that you were a little nicer."

Ron had been watching the conversation with utter fascination. "What´s the deal with her?"

"The deal?" Hermione repeated, startled. "Oh, nothing really. She´s just a pain in the arse."

"Sorry about the American phrase."

"It´s alright," Hermione assured him. "It just threw me off for a minute." She noticed Harry and Claudia were still dancing. "Er, excuse me, I have to talk to Harry."

"No problem," Ron replied.

Hermione practically ran over to Harry and Claudia. They both looked at her in surprise.

"Is something wrong, Herm?" Harry asked concernedly.

"I have to talk to you," she hissed. Harry exchanged a glance with Claudia and excused himself. He and Hermione walked outside.

"What is it now, Herm?" Harry asked. He leaned against the railing and stared out at the sea.

"That is Ron!" she exclaimed. Harry nearly fell overboard.

"Herm, I thought we cleared this up already. That isn´t Ron, well, not the Ron we knew. His surname is Carmichael."

Hermione waved this aside. "They gave him your life, Harry!"

Now Harry was really confused. "What?"

"He just told me that he´s an only child, orphaned as a baby, and was sent to live with his muggle aunt, uncle, and cousin! That´s your life! They gave him your life!"

Harry grabbed her by the shoulders. "Calm down, Hermione. You aren´t making any sense. You´re hysterical! For starters, who´s they?"

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I am not hysterical. They are whoever did this to Ron. Memory Charmed him or something." Her eyes went wide. "Maybe he has amnesia."

Harry was completely bewildered. "You´ve gone barmy. What makes you think that the Ron in there is our Ron?"

"I just told you! He has your life!" Hermione suddenly remembered something. "Harry, how did he react when you told him your name?"

Harry shrugged. "I don´t know, normally, I guess."

"The way most people react when they hear your name, or the way you wish people would react?"

He shrugged again. "The latter, I suppose."

"Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed. "When we were talking, he didn´t even remember your last name! Don´t you think that´s odd? He acted as though he´s never heard of you!"

"So?" Harry replied.

"Come on, Harry," Hermione snorted. "I know you´re not that thick. Everyone in the Wizarding world has heard of you! You defeated Voldemort when you were just a baby!"

"I´m really not following you, Hermione."

"Someone tampered with his memory! How else do you explain that he has your life and has never heard of you? Someone told him that he is an orphan who was sent to live with muggles. And they made damn good sure that he didn´t know of you! It´s the only explanation. That is Ron, but he´s been tampered with."

Harry gaped at her as though she was delusional. "Herm, maybe you should lie down. I´ll help you back to your room.

Hermione pulled her arm from his grasp. "Don´t patronize me, Harry Potter. I know that´s Ron. We only have to help him remember."

Harry sighed. "And how do you propose to do that?" he asked resignedly. "Memory charms are irreversible, at least not without damage."

Hermione considered that. "Maybe he just has amnesia. He didn´t show any signs of being under a spell."

Harry guided her to her room. "I think you ought to rest." He pushed her inside and started to close the door. Hermione shoved it outward and caught him in the stomach.

"Wait just a minute, Harry!" Hermione cried. "I am not barmy! I know that´s Ron and you´re blind if you can´t see it! And furthermore--"

She was interrupted when a woman, whom Hermione recognized as a maid, came running down the hallway, shrieking at the top of her lungs. She ran straight into Harry who stumbled backward. The maid continued to shriek and Hermione covered her ears. She and Harry were the only ones around; most everyone else was still in the dining hall.

"Calm down!" Harry said, loud enough to be heard over the screams. "What´s the matter?"

"He is dead! He is dead!" the maid screamed over and over. Hermione paled and Harry looked shocked.

"What are you talking about?" he cried.

"The man! That man, he is an ambassador! Oh, no he is dead, murdered!" She shrieked once more and fainted in Harry´s arms. He looked at Hermione in astonishment.

"So much for a relaxing vacation."

~*~