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Alexandra looked a little frightened at the story Hermione was painting. She asked the Gryffindor to continue.
"You escaped, and you came back home. Seeing your mum was hard. You thought she was dead for a while, and the fact that she was alive and okay didn't register until you saw her. And it was scary because you'd lost her once, and you had to remind yourself that she was alive and well. But for a child that was terrifying. You were also scared that if she found out, or if anybody found out, what had happened they'd never see you the same. So you decided the best course of action was to retreat and be by yourself. You avoided your siblings unless they really needed you and you distanced yourself from your parents, from having any friends, just from anything that would have meant you might be deceiving someone. You were scared of that. Nobody thinks that, though. Bill and Charlie know you're adopted. They don't know who or anything, but they know you are and they still love you. And your parents know everything because you told Dumbledore everything and he told them. They know everything you went through and they still love you and I know everything because you told me in parts. I still love you. Cedric knew everything and he still loved you."

"Does Ron know?" Hermione shook her head.

"You thought he might judge you. You said you'd rather he hate you because of something you did than have him hate you for something you couldn't help." Alexandra nodded.

"What if I told him?" Hermione sighed.

"I've been begging you to for years. I'm so tempted to encourage you to, but I don't want to die and you will kill me if I let you do that when you're back to being Alex."

"Do I have to become Alex? She was miserable." Alexandra frowned.

"You still don't get it." Hermione said. "Being Alex keeps you safe. Being Alex means you know life isn't all daisies, and that's what keeps you alive. You can be so pessimistic, but you've good instincts. As Alex, you know how to deal with people who might try to hurt you and you can keep yourself safe. Becoming Alex again doesn't mean you cease to be Alexandra. Alexandra's always there. You're the voice of reason. You're the part of Alex that lets her trust some people. That let her trust me, and let me in. You're the part of her that hugs Ginny when she's sad and is a shoulder to cry on. You're the part of her that always makes sure Ron's okay when he's had a hard time. You're always there and you are a big part of what makes Alex Alex. But you can't just throw away the parts of yourself you don't like. Alex is the part of you that keeps you on your toes. She's the part of you that knows what horrors lie ahead, and how to minimise the consequences. She's the part of you who would hex Malfoy when he's a stupid blood purist. She's the part of you who would go to any lengths to protect someone she cares about. Who would stand up to a werewolf to protect her brother, despite being deathly afraid. She's the part of you who would stand up to an evil spirit possessing a teacher for a boy she barely knows.

"You can't pick and choose who you want to be. Because if you really want to lose Alex, then you've got to lose all her memories. Who she's been the past five years. Her established relationships with friends and family. You have to start over with the knowledge you have five years ago, and not what you remember over the years. Kichiro, Venus, Saphira, Mars- those are Alex's bonds." Hermione finished passionately.

"You really love her?"

"She's the first friend I ever made. And she rescued me from a troll."

"How comes I don't need to take a potion or anything for the werewolf bite?"

"End of second year, we both got petrified by a basilisk. They gave us mandrake potions to reverse the effect, and it just reversed everything done to you."

"If we knew what the evil healer did to me and replicated that before administering a mandrake potion, we could make a cure for lycanthropy. Of course, without further testing, we could only do it if we got to the person before their first transformation." Alexandra said, excitedly.

"That's true, but there's a reason you haven't started down that rabbit hole."

"Because I'm scared of them?"

"There's another. But we're not going to bring that up."

"Who were my parents?" She asked. "My biological parents."

"We're not doing that either."

"Why not?"

"Because you as Alexandra are absolutely not ready for that knowledge."

"What if I become Alex and fade away?"

"I already told you. You are as much a part of Alex as she is of you. No one is a single personality. Humans are multidimensional beings. There are different parts to each and every one of us."

"Even you?"

"Yeah. And do you know who taught me that?" Alexandra looked down. "You taught me it's okay to feel like more than one person. I could be a brave Gryffindor, and I could be smart and I could be a normal girl. I've learnt so much being your friend. You've helped me accept a lot about who I am."

"Okay. I'm ready." Hermione smiled.

"Let's go see Madam Pomfrey."

A/N- in case you might be confused, basically it's like Alex is still part of her. The potion sort of suppressed her memories, you know. And every once in a while, when Alexandra feels intense emotion- like fear for her dad when he got hospitalised, or whatever, she can get those memories back and Alex sort of re-emerges. Anyways, Hermione's realised that Alex isn't totally gone and can essentially come out sometimes and thinks they can sort of merge the personalities. Take down the block that is keeping Alex's memories suppressed.

Anyways, favourite line is "I've been begging you to for years. I'm so tempted to encourage you to, but I don't want to die and you will kill me if I let you do that when you're back to being Alex."

Alexandra Weasley: Book 5Where stories live. Discover now