[HP] Three thousand days of innocence

Saturday was a bright and clear day, typical for August in London, and Ginny's heart leaped at the thought of Brighton.In her head, she can see the turquoise waters of the English Channel, feel the little brown stones on the beach, taste the sliver of clear hard candy, and hear the music of the fairgrounds and the carousel on the pier .Her parents had taken them to Brighton when she was a child, but Ginny was too young to have only vague, warm memories of the place that weren't real.

When she appeared on his doorstep, Draco kissed her affectionately. "I feel fine today," he said, letting her into the kitchen to wait for him to finish his breakfast. "Today is going to be a good day."

Not long after he showed up, she was completely attracted to him. "I don't think I've ever seen you have a bad day," she said.

He looked down at the black pudding on the plate thoughtfully, his expression softened. "That's because it's been a while since the last time," he said. "Not so often."

Ginny didn't know what would bring down the new carefree Draco Malfoy, so she didn't speak.

They stuffed his car with snacks for the road and overnight bags—Ginny wondered how Draco would react to seeing her in the floral bikini she'd bought a few days before.They said goodbye to Simon, who was still lying in bed, and set off, driving slowly through the crowded streets of London.

As they weaved through the traffic, they chatted, as usual, about anything that came to their mind.When they drove into Wandsworth, they somehow fell into the conversation about exes.Ginny had found it particularly amused at the thought of Draco willingly touching those Muggle girls, but she was even more surprised by the burning jealousy that surged through her veins at the very mention of them.As she expected, Draco gave no indication that he recognized the names of Michael Corner and Dean Thomas.

"My ex-girlfriend Jane is crazy." Draco rolled his eyes and said bluntly. "I didn't even know why I was dating her, but I talked to her for two months anyway."

"Why is she crazy?"

Draco laughed. "She thought she could change me. I'm not against compromising in a relationship in the name of stability, but I like myself, thank you very much. If I forget to put my seat down sometimes, or I like James more than a Hugh Grant movie Bond, then I'm sorry, you can only enlighten yourself."

There was a silence.Now it was her turn to tell him about her ex-boyfriend, and she decided not to make anything up. "I dated my ex-boyfriend for almost seven years," Ginny said. "He proposed to me three times."

Draco slipped his hand on the steering wheel, and he glanced at her as he drove. "Are you serious or are you joking?"

"seriously."

"My God! I think you said that at least once?"

"The first time was a few years after we dated," Ginny said, leaning back in her seat.She loved watching Draco drive, the muscles in his forearms flexing as he shifted gears, and the way he relaxed in his seat. "I was 20 at the time, too young to think about marriage and having a family. So I told him to stick with the idea and ask me again in a few years."

"He did."

"Well—he did, but—well, we—"

"Ah." Draco grinned at her. "For future reference, anything a man says during sex should never be taken seriously, especially if he says he loves you or proposes."

"I'll remember," said Ginny coldly. "Anyway, I pretended I didn't hear and he didn't bring it up again. He didn't bring it up again. The last time he proposed was last year. I said no and left him."

Draco whistled lowly. "I have to say it's cruel, but if you hadn't left him, we wouldn't have met," he said. "So... he wants a commitment and you don't?"

"No, I—" Ginny frowned.Ironically, it was Draco Malfoy, Harry's childhood rival, who made her analyze her relationship with Harry. "Our relationship has been convenient for me - we've gotten together without much effort and I don't want that. I do hope to get married and have kids someday - but not with him."

"True," Draco said.After a while, he said with some embarrassment: "I want a big family. Four or five kids. I like kids."

For some reason, this made Ginny very sad. "Me too," she said softly.

He fumbled around in the glove box for a while, then produced what looked like a small plate and stuffed it into the player on the dashboard.An unforgettable melody came from the trumpet. "Do you like Smiths?" Draco asked.

"what?"

"Smiths." Draco smiled at her confused expression. "I like them. I listen to all kinds of music: Clash, Wire, Pistols..." His voice trailed off, and Ginny listened to the song he played, mesmerized by the singer's mournful voice.

"I am the son and the heir," Draco sang along softly, "but have nothing."

Ginny shuddered and pulled her coat tighter.

It took them more than two hours to reach Brighton.An hour out of London, another hour on the motorway, Ginny kept asking Draco if he was going too fast. "I like to drive fast," he says with a laugh. "This is the closest I've come to flying."

"You are crazy!"

"Yeah, crazy about you," he replied, taking his eyes off the road to kiss her.

He was in high spirits all the way to Brighton, and they came at last to a small stone house with a tiled roof on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a pretty garden and a low crumbling wall.Draco pulled the car out into the driveway and into the detached garage, and Ginny saw a gray-haired, middle-aged woman behind the house weeding a cluster of bright yellow daffodils.As they got out of the car, she got up and came over to them.

"Ben, dear!" she cried, smiling.She took off her gardening gloves and wrapped him tightly in her arms, and Draco embraced her just as warmly. "Glad to see you are safe and sound."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," he said.He let her go and held out a hand to Ginny; Ginny took his hand. "Kim, this is Lucy Walcott, my roommate John's aunt. Lucy, this is Ginny Beasley."

"O famous Ginny!" said Mrs. Walcott, shaking her hand. "I've heard all about you, honey, and Ben can't stop talking about you. You're as lovely as he says you are."

"Nice to meet you," said Ginny, blushing.

Draco went to get their bags out of the trunk, and Mrs. Walcott led Ginny into the house. "You should have heard what Ben said the day after he met you," said Mrs Walcott. "He called us one Friday — my husband hadn't even gone for a morning run — and told us, 'I just met the most incredible girl, Lucy.' I said to him, 'Benjamin, I'm very Love you but she better be the Virgin Mary, that's why you're calling us at this inopportune time'."

Ginny laughed and lowered her head slightly. "No, I'm Ginny," she said.

"Well, it's Ginny," replied Mrs Walcott, giving her a friendly smile. "We're more than happy to have you all spending the weekend with us."

Their bags were left upstairs—Ginny guessed casually how they would be accommodated for the night—and Mrs. Walcott led them into a paneled study at the back of the house where a white-haired man sat. Use the computer behind a desk. "Here we have a visitor, Peter," said Mrs Walcott.

The old man immediately raised his head. "Ben, my boy!" He stood up, and Draco walked over and hugged him as warmly as Mrs Walcott. "Nice to meet you. Is this Ginny?"

They introduced each other again and Mr Walcott repeated his wife's welcome. "How is our nephew Johnny?" he asked. "Is it still girl by girl, job by job?"

"He works in a health food store," Draco told them.They came to a sunny living room and sat on the scattered couches and chairs; Draco's arm was around Ginny's shoulder. "He seems to enjoy the job. He and Mike have been dating for a few months, so he's not messing around now."

"Neither have you, it seems!" said Mrs Walcott.Draco's ears and cheeks flushed. "Won't you tell us about yourself, Ginny?"

She told them what she'd been telling Draco for the past month: roughly the same as her life, omitting important details.Her father worked in the government, Bill's job as a spellbreaker became a consultant for a security firm; Charlie became a zoologist, Percy became a diplomat, George became an entrepreneur, and Ron became a policeman.Hermione is a lawyer; Fred dies in a car accident.She went to a very small boarding school in Scotland.The Walcotts nodded and smiled at everything she said, and she spoke more and more easily.They seemed genuinely kind and understanding, she thought, and if Draco did lose his memory, he'd be lucky to find someone who clearly cared deeply about him.

"But you said you were John Palmer's aunt and uncle," she said when Ginny had finished telling her story. "Why are you so close to Ben?"

It made them stop.The Walcotts looked at each other, and then both looked at Draco, who nodded decisively. "That's why I brought Kim to meet you," he told them. "I want to tell her everything."

"If that's what you want to do, dear Ben," said Mrs. Walcott gravely. "I'll get you some snacks." She stood up and hurried to the kitchen.

"I think I started this particular story." Mr Walcott moved a little in his seat.Ginny could feel Draco's whole body tense on the couch next to her, his teeth clenched, as if getting ready.

"Tell me what?" Ginny asked.

"You've probably noticed - over the past few weeks - that there are things I don't want to talk about," Draco said hesitantly.He let go of her shoulders and put his hands on her knees. "My family - parents - elementary school - pretty much everything that happened eight years ago."

coming.She was finally going to know Draco's secret.

"Eight years ago," said Mr. Walcott softly, "I was a clinical psychologist in a London hospital. I remember it well—I was treating another patient when the public address system called me urgently. Lou There was a commotion below, and a young boy was screaming and struggling in the hands of paramedics. They wanted me to calm him down so he could be treated: he was severely dehydrated, malnourished, and had several festering wounds that needed to be treated before he became infected. Deal with it immediately."

Ginny took a deep breath.She knows exactly how the story ends.

"It was natural for me to help, but I asked where the boy's parents were and why they couldn't help," Dr Walcott continued, his voice choked. "They told me that an emergency room nurse found him wandering outside the building, barefoot, wearing only a shirt and pants, even though it was almost December." Beside her, Draco punched Trembling, Ginny took his hand. "We stabilized the boy, treated his more serious wounds, fed him, and I went in to find out more about him. As soon as I opened my mouth, he started crying because he said he couldn't do anything. No idea. Not where he is, year, date, his own name, his address - he has no narrative or autobiographical memory whatsoever. His disease is the worst retrograde amnesia I have ever seen .

"That's at least my initial diagnosis," said Dr. Walcott, throwing one leg over his knee. "Given that he looks like he's been wandering for a while, it's a no-brainer. But we tested him for previous head trauma and substance abuse, which are common causes of retrograde amnesia — and found nothing. From the surface Looks like there's no reason why he can't remember anything, and a doctor - he's too fond of children - thinks he's faking it," explained Dr Walcott, looking at Ginny's blank expression. "Fake disease is when the patient pretends not to remember anything, or fabricates symptoms of other serious mental illnesses. We try to follow this assumption, show him various news, let him hear different names, places, and hope he can Act like you know. Get nothing."

She looked at Draco, who was staring straight ahead, then back at Dr. Walcott. "So—if it's not amnesia—what's going on?"

"Ginny," said Dr. Walcott, staring at her. "Have you ever heard of dissociative fugue?"