I Will Remember You

The Leaving

When Harry Apparated next to Hermione in the Leaky Cauldron, she let out a small shriek.

"Harry!" she said, as she turned to him. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," he said, smiling.

Hermione nodded, accepting the apology immediately. "Is he in that prison?" she asked anxiously.

Harry shook his head. "No, but he is under strict guard. He won't do anything to you ever again," he said, hugging her.

"Thank you," she answered, hugging him back.

"Here you are, Hermione dear," said Tom, entering the room with a tray full of toast and a cup of tea. "Oh, Mr. Potter, you are back."

Harry smiled at Tom, acknowledging the greeting. "Are you still hungry?" he asked Hermione in disbelief.

"Yes, why?" she asked, flushing red as she bit into a piece of toast.

"What happened to that evil man? Hermione told me everything. It's terrible," Tom asked, seeming sincerely concerned.

"He is at the Ministry of Magic," answered Harry.

"They should send him to Azkaban," Tom said harshly.

"Azkaban doesn't exist anymore," answered Harry quietly. "And here's something else - I think we should destroy his belongings. Some of them must be dangerous. And we should also free the unicorn."

Without waiting for an answer from Hermione or Tom, Harry knelt down and opened the trunk nearest him, piling the contents on the floor.

"Can I help you?" asked Hermione sweetly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course," answered Harry.

"Well, I think that I will go downstairs and free the unicorn in the meantime," said Tom. "If you need me, just call, all right?"

Both Harry and Hermione nodded and smiled as Tom exited the room.

The contents of the trunk were horrifying. There were skulls of all sizes, strange and foul-smelling potions, locks of hair (some of them a familiar red), nails, fangs, poisons, etc. The other trunk held little different, except for a little wooden box. Harry pulled it out of the trunk, surprised by its unexpected weight. He opened it and saw that it was full of Galleons and jewels.

"He made me steal all those things from the men I was sold to, after I killed them," said Hermione to Harry, who nodded.

"We have to think about the use we can make of these Galleons," said Harry. "I reckon you can have them, Hermione."

"I don't want them," said Hermione firmly. Harry looked at her with surprise. "They are tainted with blood," she whispered.

Harry looked at her intently. "Hermione, you are right, but you have nothing with you and you will need some money. It could be useful."

Hermione looked at Harry and then glanced at the Galleons. "Okay, then. But why don't you keep them for me? I don't know how to use them, anyway."

Harry nodded and closed the box, putting it on the bed. Then he stood up. "I think that we can send all of this stuff to the Ministry of Magic and they-"

"Wait," said Hermione, rummaging in the bottom of the second trunk. "There's something else here." Her hand emerged with a handful of little wooden sticks. "Look Harry, these things look like that wooden stick of yours," she said, showing him.

"Those are wands, Hermione," Harry said after a moment spent staring at them. There were wands of all sizes and colors: long, short, broken, scratched, old, new.

Suddenly, a bright light and a strong wind enveloped Hermione. Scared, she dropped the wands.

"Hermione," Harry cried. "Your wand!"

"What?" she asked, bemused.

"You must have just touched your wand, Hermione," said Harry, kneeling on the floor again and searching through the wands.

"My wand?" asked Hermione. "I had a wand?"

"You still have a wand," said Harry, picking up a pair of wands. "Try this one."

He placed a long cherry wand in Hermione's hand. Nothing happened.

"No," said Harry. "Try this one."

He passed her another wand. Nothing happened again.

Harry snorted. "And this?" he said, giving Hermione a third wand. Still nothing happened.

Harry looked the rest of the wands, trying to remember what Hermione's wand looked like.

"What about this?" asked Hermione, picking up a vine-wood wand. The same light and wind enveloped her again.

Harry jumped to his feet. "How did you know?" he asked her in disbelief.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know."

"Did you remember that that was your wand?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "No, I just thought that it would be nice if were. I don't know why, though."

Harry nodded. "Hermione, would you like to recover your memory?" he asked her, looking into her eyes and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"More than anything," she answered seriously.

"I was sure you would," said Harry, smiling. "And I'm very happy because I found a cure for the Memory Charm."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Hermione incredulously.

"No," said Harry.

"But, Tom told me there is no treatment for Memory Charms," said Hermione.

"That was what I thought, too. But then I found out about someone who has recovered from a Memory Charm," said Harry.

"Really? Who?"

"A girl, younger than you," said Harry.

"Well, we can go and find her and she-"

"Hermione she is dead."

"What? Dead?"

Harry nodded. "She died in the Last Battle."

"The Last Battle?" asked Hermione uncomprehendingly, "But if she is dead, then how can you cure me?"

Harry smiled. "I know how she recovered from the Charm. I read it in her file."

"Her file?"

"She was an Auror. At the Ministry of Magic they have files on everybody and-"

"On everybody? Is mine there, too?"

"Yes, but-"

"I want to read it," said Hermione.

Harry was shocked. He hadn't thought about letting Hermione read her own file. She wouldn't have remembered but she would have known at last. But he didn't want her to read it, although he wasn't sure why.

"Hermione, I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

"Why?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, because I think that you should start the treatment right now. We don't have time to go to the Ministry of Magic just to read your file," he replied.

Hermione looked at him and sighed. "You're right. What do I have to do?"

"Well, the girl who recovered from the charm went with her father to all the places she used to hang around before the Memory Charm. When she got back from her trip, she remembered everything," said Harry.

"She remembered everything?" she repeated hopefully.

Harry nodded. "We can do the same thing, if you want, we can go-"

Hermione threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Of course I want to, Harry." She let go of him slowly. "When are we leaving?"

"Whenever you want, there's nothing we have to do here," said Harry, smiling.

"Can we leave today?"

That was even better than Harry had hoped. "Of course," he said.

"And where are we going?" asked Hermione excitedly.

"All the places that you used to know," Harry replied.

"And these places have names?" asked Hermione jokingly.

"Yes, of course. We'll go to Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, the Burrow and the field where we fought the Last Battle."

Hermione looked at him in horror as he named their last destination. "There won't be corpses, will there?" she whispered.

Harry shook his head. "No, don't worry. The Ministry of Magic sent people to clean up the place and bury the dead."

"What? Why didn't they find me?" she asked, slightly bemused.

"Because they went there a week after the Battle. The merchant said that he found you three days after it ended. So when the Ministry wizards came, you were already gone," said Harry.

Hermione just nodded. "So are we leaving?" she asked.

"Yes we are. Take all your things with you," said Harry, heading towards the door.

"Done," said Hermione, holding her wand tight.

Harry grinned. "Well, I'm sure that your handbag won't be too heavy at least."

"Indeed."

"You should take some of the clothes that I managed to find. I mean, we're going north and it will be colder there than here."

"That's not a bad idea," said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Well, let's go to my room," said Harry, opening the door, "I have to pack, too."

They walked side by side to Harry's room. When they entered, Hermione picked up the clothes that were still lying on the chair and started to choose the ones that she liked most. Harry went to the wardrobe and levitated his things to the bed.

They both decided to wear jeans and t-shirts for their trip. Hermione went into the bathroom to change out of her dress, and Harry called Tom for some help in packing.

"You are leaving?" asked Tom in disbelief.

Harry nodded.

"And where do you think you will go?"

"We're going to all the places that meant something to Hermione."

Tom nodded. "I see. Well, what did you need me for?"

"Do you have something that we can use for Hermione's things, like a back pack?"

"Just let me check the other rooms," said Tom, smiling toothlessly.

Tom found a couple of black charmed back packs that always seemed empty no matter how much was put into them. Harry threw everything he owned and Hermione's money inside his and put Hermione's wand and some of the clothes that she had chosen in hers.

Hermione came out of the bathroom, wearing her jeans, a black t-shirt and a pair of trainers.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked her.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, where am I supposed to put this?" she asked, holding up the folded dress.

"In here," said Harry, pointing at her back pack.

Hermione put the dress inside and closed it. Then she picked it up and, looking at Harry, threw it over her shoulders.

"I think that we're ready to leave," he said, smiling.

Hermione smiled back. "Yes."

Tom looked at them and realized that he was going to lose his best customer. He was happy, though, that Harry had finally found the strength to face the world again. And he was glad that Miss Granger was with him.

He headed for the hall downstairs and Harry and Hermione followed him. When they reached the entrance, he looked out at the starry sky and frowned at the cold air.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait till tomorrow morning to leave?" he asked.

Harry and Hermione looked into each other's eyes. "We're sure," said Harry.

Tom nodded.

Hermione stepped towards him and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thank you, Tom," she said, smiling.

"Y-you are welcome," Tom stammered.

"Here you are, Tom," said Harry placing a yellow envelope in Tom's hand. "I think that there's enough there to cover my bill, but if there isn't, I'll pay the difference when we get back."

Tom nodded. "Good luck, Mr. Potter."

Harry stretched out his hand and Tom shook it. "Thank you for everything, Tom."

"It has been a pleasure, Mr. Potter," said Tom, smiling.

Harry and Hermione stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the cold night. Tom followed them as long as he could see them, until they disappeared in the darkness.

Next stop the Burrow.