All the way II: And Even Further

When Hermione was dressed, Severus had already left for his first class. Eileen was in her bedroom playing with something she probably wasn't meant to have. Hermione conjured Bill some new clothes and left him to put them on.

When all three people were ready, Hermione took them through the floo to St. Mungo's. She was just brushing the dust from her daughter, when a short, plump, kindly looking lady, in healers’ robes, bustled over.

"Bill!" She greeted the man with a hug, "Where have you been?" She looked to Hermione and Eileen, "And who is this?"

"This is my daughter, Donna, and my Granddaughter, Tammy!" Bill announced proudly.

Hermione put Eileen down, whispering, "Stay here and keep and eye on him." Then, she took the healer aside, "I'm Hermione and that is my daughter, Eileen -"

The woman took Hermiones hand and shook it enthusiastically, "I'm Healer Maple, but please, call me Margaret. I've heard so much about you! I'm sorry he got your name wrong, it must be awful for your own dad not to remember your name!"

"No," Hermione started, "You don't understand. I found him -"

"And I’m so glad you did!" Margaret finally let go of her hand, "We just don't have the staff to spare for any one to go out looking for him. But I’m sure you'll understand -"

"No!" Hermione cut through more forcefully, "I'm not his daughter." the healers face fell, "I found him in Hogsmeade and I took him home, got him clean and then brought him here."

"Oh," Margaret sighed, "I so wish his daughter would come and visit. You must look like her, or he wouldn't have been confused. He may be slightly unstable in the head, but he remembers people very well."

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked.

The healer cleared her throat, "He... he was attacked by Death Eaters. When he first came here, he was shouting for his daughter, shouting to save her, but there had been no one else in the house when the Ministry got there."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said sincerely, "He seems like a lovely person."

"Oh, my dear, he is. Some times he has memory relapses and shouts about Death Eaters, but on the whole, he is very sweet." The Healer smiled at him fondly, as he and Eileen laughed. "He seems to like you both; will you come and visit him?"

Hermione didn't hesitate, "Of course we will."

"That's great!" Margaret beamed, "Come up to his ward. He has a picture of his daughter up there; you can see if you look like her."

Hermione nodded and all four of them headed up to his ward.

It was much like the one that Lockhart had been on, Hermione thought. There were six beds, each of the closed in by curtains. The wall by Bills bed was covered in pictures of a girl that did look like Hermione. But... one of the pictures looked familiar. The woman, perhaps 21 years old, was posing, for what looked like a professional photographer. She was flicking her hair slightly and smiling, flashing white teeth and turning her head to the left, then to the right, as if trying to get her better side.

Hermione had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't think where...

""""""""""""""""""""

Lucius caught Hermione as they passed in the corridor.

"Could you take me back to the house tonight?" he asked, "I left one of my books there."


"And you only just notice?" Hermione said incredulously.

Lucius shrugged, "I kept forgetting to ask you to take me to get it."

Hermione sighed, "Come down after dinner."

"Thanks," Lucius smiled, walking off to find Annie.

"""""""""""""""""""""

"Where's he gone?" Severus asked.

"I took him back to St. Mungo's." Hermione answered, sinking down next to him, "He was attacked by Death Eaters and they used some spell to confuse him... permanently. He's back safe, though, and his healer was grateful. Eileen wants to go and visit him soon, so..." She trailed off, rubbing her eyes.

There was a quick knock on the door, before Lucius stepped in.

"Are we going, then?" He asked.

"Going where?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"He left something at home," Hermione said vaguely, already pushing Lucius towards the fire place.

They went through the floo, and Lucius raced up stairs to his room. Hermione walked slowly at the bottom of the stairs to wait.

"HAVE YOU BEEN TIDYING IN HERE AGAIN?" Lucius yelled down, "I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING!" Sighing and shaking her head, Hermione headed up. Lucius was looking through draws and throwing things out onto the floor. "Why do you bother tidying things up in here?" he asked, "It's my room; it's not like you have to come in here that often. Why don't you just let me tidy?"

"Because you never bother." Hermione answered, moving over to a bedside table to search for the book.

"Yeah, well has it ever crossed your mind that I might actually know where things are in here, when you aren't tidying?"

Hermione didn't answer.

She was transfixed, staring at a picture of a woman on the bedside table.