When Holly woke, the first thing she heard was her friends' petty bickering.

"Really Malfoy, overloading her bedside with sweets isn't going to make her wake up any sooner." Hermione's irritated voice drifted over her as she cracked open her eyes, squinting at the bright ceiling. Her head felt blurry, and she couldn't focus.

"She isn't you Granger. Those of us who are normal actually like sugary things. Besides, we all saw how quickly those chocolate frogs disappeared at Yuletide." Draco replied.

"For Merlin's sake, it's Christmas!"

"Yuletide!"

"Christmas!"

"If the two of you would stop arguing for a moment, you'd realize she's awake." Blaise's cool voice cut through their bickering.

The too-bright ceiling was blocked a moment later by three curious faces.

"Hey guys." She rasped, throat dry. "What happened? And where's Neville?"

"You don't remember?" Draco asked incredulously. "You nearly died! We all did!"

"Shush, Malfoy. Let her wake up properly before you scare her." Hermione scolded him, handing her a cup of water.

Holly eagerly gulped it down. "I'm awake," she said more clearly, "Seriously, what happened?"

"You had the brilliant idea to go after Quirrell in the middle of the night to protect a rock that may or may not have been the Philosopher's Stone, only to end up in a battle to the death with the Dark Lord himself." Draco deadpanned.

"Oh," Holly blinked, "Wait, what?!"

"What Malfoy is trying to say," Hermione continued, glaring at him, "is that you were right. Quirrell was after the Stone, not Snape, and you managed to stop him from stealing it somehow. We'd all been separated by then, so we're not sure what exactly happened. Madam Pomfrey told us you had suffered a head injury, and that your memory of the last few days might be fuzzy. But you should be able to remember within the week."

Holly frowned, uncomfortable with the idea of losing her memories, even if it was only temporary. She felt like she was missing something important, something that was just beyond her reach. "Where is Neville?" She asked again, distracting herself from those thoughts. Her friends went silent, their faces grim.

"He-" Hermione bowed her head, tears in her eyes.

A jolt of fear ran through Holly, "What? What happened?"

"He's in St. Mungo's for spell damage," Blaise said when Draco stayed quiet. "We don't know exactly what happened, but he had burns all across his body."

"Oh, Merlin." Holly whispered. "Will he be alright?"

Blaise nodded, "The Healers told Madam Pomfrey that he'll be fine in a week or two."

"I-It was my fault." Hermione stammered, her cheeks wet. "I-I thought there was enough potion for both of us to go back, b-but there wasn't and N-Neville, h-he-" She cut off with a sob, and buried her face in her hands. The boys shifted away from her, looking uncomfortable.

"Hermione…" Holly trailed off, reaching out and pulling her friend into a hug. "It's not your fault." She mumbled, blinking away her own tears, "If it's anyone's fault its mine. I'm the one who dragged you down there."

"It's n-not your fault." Came Hermione's muffled reply.

Draco spoke up with a frown, arms crossed, "Technically, it's the fault of the old geezer who decided to keep that damn stone here in the first place."

Hermione sat up, red-eyed glare quickly focusing on Draco. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore had his reasons for keeping it here, Malfoy." She said, voice rough from crying.

"And I'm sure those reasons completely justified putting an entire school of children in danger." Draco shot back.

Holly met Blaise's gaze over the now-arguing duo and rolled her eyes. Blaise smirked back, amused. If there was one thing that always managed to get Hermione out of a funk, it was a good argument. And if there was one thing Draco was good at, it was arguing with Hermione. Honestly, Holly wondered if Draco was doing it on purpose at this point.

Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to burst into the hospital wing, two people trailing behind her. One was her Head of House, Severus Snape. The other was the topic of their argument, Professor Dumbledore. Draco and Hermione's argument fizzled out instantly, leaving their group in silence as Pomfrey led them to her bedside before busying herself with her duties.

Snape raised a brow at them. "I hope you four aren't planning on getting into any more trouble. As it stands, you three will already be serving detention with me for the rest of the year." He drawled, giving pointed looks to the three Slytherins, who groaned simultaneously. "And for you, Miss Granger, I'm sure a similar punishment is awaiting you with your Head of House."

"Now, now, Severus, no need to make it sound so terrible. It's only a few days after all." Dumbledore interrupted with a light-hearted chuckle. He smiled kindly at the four of them, blue eyes twinkling, "However, we do need to speak to Miss Potter, if you don't mind. And it is a wonderful day outside. It would be a shame for three young students like yourselves to miss out."

"Of course, Professor!" Hermione exclaimed, reaching down to pick up her schoolbag. Draco and Blaise were more hesitant, and didn't move until Snape nodded for them to go. Reluctantly, the trio left, calling out goodbyes and promises to be back soon. Then they were gone, and Holly was left alone with the two professors.

Dumbledore spoke first, "Good morning, Holly. How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Hello, Professors. Physically, I feel fine, Headmaster." Holly replied, curt but not impolite. She had met the Headmaster once before, at the beginning of the year. He'd called her to his office to question why she wasn't living with her relatives. She had replied by asking why he, the Head of the school, cared about the housing of one student. They had gone back and forth for a short while, and at the end of that meeting, neither had gotten the answers they were looking for. Though, Holly did learn that the Headmaster had a borderline unhealthy obsession with mismatching socks and sweets. He'd reminded her of some of the social workers she met before being placed with the Freeman's, the ones who wanted to help but always believed that their way was the best way to do so. It made her wary of the Headmaster and his good intentions.

"Ah," he replied with a weary sigh, "Yes, Madam Pomfrey informed me of your memory loss." He looked over her sadly, "Part of me hopes you never remember the details of that night. However, those details are crucial to our understanding of what occurred."

Dread began to wrap itself around her at the Headmaster's words. "Couldn't you find out what happened from my friends? They were there too." Holly asked, but her mind was occupied with another question. That feeling of missing something important had come back. What had she forgotten?

"We did question them; but unfortunately, they were only there for part of it. You and your friends had gotten separated by the time you reached Voldemort." Came Dumbledore's reply. "What happened between the two of you remains only in your mind. Only you know of the most significant events of that night, such as how the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed." Holly's eyes widened at that bit of information, and Dumbledore continued. "That is why I've brought your Head of House along. He is a master of mind magic, even more so than myself. He will use it to help you regain your memories a bit faster."

"Mind magic?" Holly questioned, confused, "But isn't that illegal to use on minors?"

Dumbledore's brow went up, and Professor Snape finally spoke, a small smirk on his face, "I'm glad to see that your housemates have been educating you on our laws, Miss Potter. Ordinarily, yes, it would be illegal. But the magic you are thinking of is Legilimency and Occlumency; both invasive forms of mind magic. There is a less invasive, and less well-known, form of mind magic that is often used in advanced potions. It can be found in any potion that alters a person's state of mind, such as love potions. It is non-invasive in the sense that it is a passive presence in your mind, rather than an active one." Holly nodded along, showing that she understood. "The potion I will be giving you will help your mind pull its memories back together at a faster rate." With a flourish, Snape pulled out a small vial filled with a dark blue liquid. He uncapped it, and it glimmered in the light as he handed it to her.

"But won't my memories come back soon on their own?" Holly asked as she took it, holding it gently so it didn't spill. "This seems a bit… excessive."

"It's likely that, if left on their own, your memories won't return before the end of the year." Dumbledore answered her, "And we must know what happened as soon as possible, so we can be sure of your health and safety before sending you home, among other things. We've no way to know which spells were cast that night, or what led to Voldemort's defeat. And with him as an opponent, being unaware of these things can be very harmful."

Holly nodded, seeing the logic. For all she knew, a slow-acting curse that killed her organs one by one could've been put on her. Steeling herself, she quickly swallowed the potion, grimacing at the taste of rotten blueberries. Handing the vial back to Snape, she asked, "How long does it take for it to take effect, Professor?"

"No more than 24 hours." Snape replied, "And that is in cases of extreme damage. You should regain your memories sometime tonight."

"We'll leave you to rest now, Holly." Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid any other questions you may have should wait until we visit again tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have plenty more by then." Again, Holly saw sadness settle over the Headmaster's features.

Unease settled comfortably in her gut as she watched them leave, Snape nodding his goodbye before following the Headmaster out the door. Then she was alone.

A few hours later, Hermione and Blaise returned with a few books for her to read. They spoke for a while, but before long they had to head to the Great Hall for dinner. Holly ate hers in the company of Madam Pomfrey, who, at Holly's request, regaled her with tales of the weirdest things she'd seen in her time at Hogwarts. They were interrupted by a third year being carried in by his friends, blood dribbling from his lips as the occasional bat escaped his mouth. Madame Pomfrey rushed off, muttering about overdone bat-bogey hexes, and Holly was left with her books. She tried to read, she really did, but Hermione seemed to have chosen the driest books available, and before long she had slipped off into sleep.

Only to wake with a scream lodged in her throat later that night. She sprang from her bed, looking around wildly as her mind replayed Voldemort's wraith running at her, through her. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness slowly, and she started to calm, seeing only the empty Hospital Wing around her. She gulped in a breath, forcing her lungs to work past the terror, and slowly sat back on the bed.

But it wasn't over.

More memories crashed through her head, ones that didn't belong, of a young girl who wasn't her but was at the same time. Her breath was stolen again by the phantom feeling of drowning, and she collapsed against the pillows, head spinning. She laid there, unable to do anything as the scenes replayed, over and over, in her mind's eye.

Finally, finally, the memories settled and she could breathe again. For a long moment, she simply stared at the ceiling and focused on breathing; one breath in, one breath out, repeat, until her mind began to work again. Whose memories are those? She wondered, but that thought was quickly eclipsed by another. I killed someone. She thought, disbelief settling into her bones. Not just someone, I killed Professor Quirrell. Her eyes began to water as the reality of her actions sank in, the sharp pain of guilt running through her. She pressed a hand to her mouth as the first sob escaped, and she curled up as her frame shook with muffled cries.

Sleep escaped her for the rest of the night, and for many nights after.

-line break-

When Professor Dumbledore returned early the next morning, it was to the sight of an unusually pale young girl with bloodshot eyes. He gently cleared his throat to announce his presence, but she ignored him, instead staring stiffly at the ceiling above her.

"Do not blame yourself, Holly." Professor Dumbledore spoke solemnly, moving to stand at the foot of her bed. "It was not your fault."

She closed her eyes at the words, unable to face the light. "It was my magic," Holly croaked, throat raw from crying. "My magic, my will. My fault." The last two words were whispered; a confession, an acknowledgment, and Holly sagged against the bed. Her head turned to the side, weary green eyes opening to meet bright blue. "My fault." She repeated, the image of a crushed skull, blood covering her feet, flickering in her mind's eye.

"No, Holly. You are still a child." Holly almost snorted. She didn't feel like a child. "A child who cannot fully control her magic. What happened was self-defense; your magic acted for you when you could not. It was not your fault." Dumbledore said again, a sliver of steel in his voice.

"My magic killed my professor, Professor." Holly stated bluntly, face twisting in pain. "And my magic is a part of me." The truth of the statement rang through her as she remembered another girl, one with a heart of gold and pathetic excuses of horns to match, who had used her will to guide her magic the same way she had. That girl had saved lives. Holly had destroyed one. She wanted to be that girl. "I won't deny this responsibility." A flicker of fire came to life inside her, giving meaning to her words. She would carry this with her always, this knowledge that she had knowingly taken another's life. She would do her best to make up for it as well.

A sad fondness flickered in her Headmaster's eyes. He sighed, and smiled slightly, "You remind me so much of myself, dear Holly. It's truly remarkable, given I was much older than you when I faced my own hardships."

They descended into silence, and Holly was grateful. It gave her time to sort her thoughts and feelings, and carefully lock them away. When she felt ready, she started the story. "Everything happened by accident, really. Over the last year, my friends and I noticed a strange tension between Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell. It was a bit of a game for us, as we tried to figure out what it was. But then Halloween happened. When Neville and I saved Hermione from that troll, we saw Professor Quirrell heading to the third floor, and Professor Snape following him. Later Draco told us about Professor Snape's injury, and how it looked like something had taken a bite out of his leg. A few weeks later Neville got lost and ended up on the third-floor corridor, and he told us about the three headed dog. We put two and two together, and our new game became trying to figure out object was so important that Professor Snape would put its safety above the safety of his Slytherins. We only figured out it was the Philosopher's Stone a few weeks ago. I'm the only one who thought Professor Quirrell was trying to steal it, and only after I heard him talking to himself in his classroom." She paused; shuddering at the realization that it was actually Voldemort that Quirrell had been talking to. "When we heard you'd left the castle, I convinced my friends to go with me to check on the Stone, and we'd tell Professor McGonagall if we saw anything suspicious. But by the time we got there it was obvious someone had already broken in, so we went down. As you know, we got as far as the chess board before being separated. Draco and Blaise stayed behind, and then Hermione, Neville and I got separated at the potions."

She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the next part. Her voice was monotone as she recited what happened. "When I went into the chamber, I saw Professor Quirrell in front of a mirror. He was muttering to himself, and didn't notice me until a voice pointed me out to him. He forced me in front of the mirror, and another version of me put a stone in my pocket. When I told Professor Quirrell I only saw myself, he threw me away, until that voice told him I had the Stone. Then Professor Quirrell took off his turban and showed me Voldemort, who tried to convince me to join him. When I refused we fought, and he'd been about to kill me when my magic threw him into the mirror. You saw what happened after that."

"And what of the Stone, Holly? Do you remember what happened to it?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Professor. It must have been destroyed by one of the spells Professor Quirrell cast. It happened too fast for me to be sure when it happened."

He nodded solemnly, "I see. Thank you, Holly. I know that must have been painful for you to relive." He rose from his seat, "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey is waiting to check on you, so I'll take my leave. But before I go, is there anything you'd like to ask me? I'm sure you have at least a few questions."

Holly thought for a moment. Most of her questions had been answered by her memories, and the few others she had she knew Dumbledore wouldn't answer. "Not at the moment, Professor." He nodded and had turned to leave when she called out, "Actually," she started uncertainly, remembering the one question that had been bothering her for years. "What does it mean when you remember things? Things you never did?"

Dumbledore froze, and turned back to her. "That would depend on what you remember." He replied slowly.

Holly thought of the dreams, "Things like learning spells you've never learned before, and casting them on others."

Dumbledore seemed to pale, but he recovered quickly, and smiled. But it was fake. "Then you must have a very vivid imagination, Miss Potter. Such things have very little significance in our world. Now if you'd excuse me, I hope you enjoy the rest of the school year. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would be willing to release you for the Feast tomorrow night, if you behave."

Holly's brow furrowed at his change in behavior, but she smiled back, just as fake. "I don't think that will be a problem, Professor."

After Dumbledore left, Madam Pomfrey rushed in to check her over before moving on to her other patients, leaving Holly alone to think. She focused on Dumbledore's odd reaction to her question in an effort to avoid thinking about more unpleasant things. And so her day passed in phases of thinking, fitful sleeping, and reading, with her friends trickling in and out throughout the day. The night was spent with little sleep, and the next morning Holly almost shouted for joy when Madam Pomfrey said she could leave. It was hard to find things to distract herself with in the cold, white room.

As she was leaving, Blaise slipped into the room and she grinned as she walked towards him. "I've finally been released!" She announced happily, a bounce in her step.

"About time," Blaise replied, lips tugging upwards, "We were starting to think you'd go into hibernation, with how often you were sleeping in here."

Holly's grin faded at the reminder of the nightmares, but she forced it back. "Well there's not much else to do in here, which you'd know if you weren't so perfect in class all the time." It was a running joke in their group. Everyone in their year had been to the infirmary at least once, from blowing up a potion or getting attacked by a suit of armor, except Blaise. "You have to teach me your powers of indestructability."

Blaise huffed in amusement, shaking his head, and they descended into a comfortable silence as they left the infirmary. They stayed that way as they headed towards the dungeons and passed through the Great Hall, which was starting to fill with students heading for an early lunch.

"Hey Holly!" A voice called out, and she spun around, recognizing Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff in their year. "I'm glad to see you're out of the Hospital Wing!" He continued.

"Thanks Smith." She called back, confused. Zacharias disappeared into the crowd, satisfied. Turning to Blaise she asked, "What was that about?"

Blaise grimaced, "The whole school knows about the Stone and how we tried to protect it. They don't know the details, but some have decided we're not as bad as they thought we were."

She snorted, "We never were. It was just their own stupid prejudice making them think that." She shook her head, "I can't believe this. We're going to have to deal with people trying to suck up to us now, aren't we? As if that will erase a year of slurs and hexes."

Blaise nodded, frowning. "Draco and I have had to deal with a few of them already, and I'm sure Hermione has too."

She scowled, stomping angrily down the steps to the dungeons. If those small minded bigots thought some nice words were going to make her forget the way they had treated her, then they were even dumber than she'd thought. "At least we only have to deal with them for tonight, and the train ride home. Maybe the summer break will make them forget about it."

"Doubtful." Blaise replied as they entered the common room.

Holly sighed, "Let me hope, will you? Besides that reminds me, I still have to pack my trunk." She shuddered at the thought. Over the year she'd managed to amass a large collection of magical junk to bring home, and she had no idea how she would get it all to fit. She turned to Blaise, "Wanna help?"

"I am not packing your room for you." He replied firmly. At her crestfallen face, he added, "But I'll keep you company while you suffer."

"Thanks." She drawled sarcastically. "You're such a great friend."

"I know."

They both laughed, and so Holly spent the day locked in her room, trying to fit as much stuff as she could into her trunk, which, with the excessive use of shrinking charms, was a surprisingly large amount. By the time she was finished it was almost time for the Feast. Draco joined them on their way to the Great Hall, where the three of them ran into Hermione.

"Holly!" Hermione called, quickly wrapping her up in a hug. "Madame Pomfrey told me you'd been released, but I couldn't find you anywhere!"

"Sorry Hermione," Holly mumbled, wrapping her arms around her friend in return. "I only just finished packing my trunk."

Hermione gave her a squeeze before letting go. "You're forgiven. I was hoping to steal you away from your dorm for a few hours, but I still have the train ride tomorrow." She grinned, "And you can visit whenever you want over the summer."

"Don't say that, or else I'll show up in the middle of the night with PJ's and chocolate." She joked. Holly was surprised to learn that Hermione lived an hour's drive away, and they planned to meet up numerous times over the summer.

"I wouldn't mind. But no chocolate, my parents would freak out."

Three sets of Slytherin eyes rolled at the reminder of Hermione's parents' weird aversion to all things good in life.

"So are we going to sit or not?" Draco asked, reminding everyone that the Feast was about to start. The Great Hall had filled with students while they were talking.

At this realization, they quickly headed inside, Hermione breaking off from the group to sit at the Ravenclaw table. The Feast went by quickly. Dumbledore announced Quirrell's death as an unfortunate accident, though this didn't stop people from shooting glances at her. Slytherin won the House Cup, with Gryffindor in a close second. They all ate, and returned to their dormitories. Most of the students stayed up to chat, but Holly quickly went to bed, telling her friends it was on Madame Pomfrey's orders. She was exhausted from the lack of sleep the two previous nights.

The next day they all met up on the train and the four of them shared a compartment. Hermione told them that Neville was healing quickly, and would be released in a few days. They were all happy to hear that, though Draco pretended not to be. Blaise announced his plans to visit Neville over break, so they could obsess over dangerous, and probably poisonous, plants together. When the train pulled into King's Cross, Holly found herself sad to be leaving her new friends, though she was excited to see the Freeman's again. They all promised to write, with Hermione giving Holly her phone number, and they went their separate ways, happy with their lives and eager for the next year.

They had no idea how soon that would change.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to update, but I've been really busy. I tried to show the dynamics of their friendships here a bit, to make up for the time skip. But I already said I wouldn't be writing out the whole year, I just don't have time to write details like what their class schedules are. But if there are any scenes I left out that you guys wanna see, let me know and I'll write a snippet of it and post it with a later chapter if I have the time. There are some changes I want to make to the story, so it may seem like we're just skipping to the big stuff in HP, but if I wasn't changing anything I would've just skipped Hogwarts altogether. But I've rambled on long enough. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and don't forget to let me know what you think! I love reading your comments, ya'll help me think of things I wouldn't have otherwise. Til next time! ^.^