Hermione and Ron do come to see me as soon as I have been examined by no less than five separate healers. My arm is fractured, but the healers repair it in under twenty minutes. In private, I tell Hermione and Draco that Draco is gone, and I also tell them that Blaise is in custody. They had already heard about Blaise from Harry. However, they hadn't expected to see me. Ron offers me a curt nod but no words. Knowing that my fractured arm was healed so quickly, he is worse for wear than I expected. Only Hermione talks. She tells me not to speak to anyone, not even a healer like Robbie. Eventually, they call in a wizard named Hestia Jones to act as my solicitor. Hermione sits with me as we recount the entire story to the solicitor, knowing she will keep the details secret.

While Hermione did not want me to know, I learn from Ms. Jones that there are nearly a dozen reporters outside which St. Mungo's is keeping at bay. It seems Robbie had explained to the receptionist what had happened, and then the story spiralled within an hour. Hermione leaves while Hestia explains to me our plans of action. Once it is all done, she sends a letter to Hermione via owl, telling her what we have discussed.

If Hestia judges me for what I have thought or what I have done, she does not mention it. Most of her time is spent thinking about how to best present the narrative to protect Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna from their part in harbouring the last Death Eater. I do notice that when I talk of Draco, she tightens her upper lip, just enough that I know he is a subject that she would rather avoid.

Hestia shows me how to use occlumency, because though legilimency is considered a dark art, it is possible that someone will try to pry into my head, especially when the nature of my injury is noticed. I tell her that Robbie already pried into me, but she didn't find anything. This doesn't seem to bring much comfort to Hestia.

After explaining occlumency, Hestia attempts to use legilimency on me, and knowing what I know, I block her. I nearly puke in the process. She is surprised that, even with my condition, I am better at occlumency than most wizards and witches. Even though I do not remember it, I imagine I had practice at Hogwarts, when I was trying to hide my relationship with Draco. Bringing him up is out of the question.

Soon enough, there is an auror who steps into my small room.

"Good evening, Miss Turner," he says, closing the door behind him. "I'm Auror Dawlish. Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions?"

I nod my head, looking over at Hestia for confirmation. She doesn't even look at me.

"So, I'd love to hear your version of events," he says.

There is no further prompt, so I furrow my brow, "where should I begin?"

"Where you see fit."

And consequently, I tell him what Hestia told me to say. Since after Easter of 1998, I have been living as a muggle named Jane Miller in Inverness. After some time, I was discovered there by Terrence Boot, an old mate from Hogwarts, just a few weeks ago. He was there to do research on Inverness' use as a port town to sneak in supplies from Denmark during the war. After finding me, he abandoned the lead and turned to help me. He got in contact with Luna and asked for augurey tears, which she provided with no knowledge of his need for them. I remembered meeting Blaise at a bar. At some point, Blaise came to Terry's home and kidnapped me. I used a Patronus to contact Harry Potter, having done research with Terry and knowing he would be able to help me.

"And Harry Potter came, no questions asked?" Auror Dawlish speaks for the first time during my version of events.

"Well, Terry had just contacted him to inquire about me," I explain.

"Mr. Boot is a historian, not an auror," Hestia adds. "His decision not to contact the aurors is entirely reasonable, given he thought his investigative prowess would be enough to secure Miss Turner's memories and her safety. He is an independent author, not a mandatory reporter."

"And Terrence Boot can corroborate your story?" Auror Dawlish asks.

"Yes," I say. Hermione has already gotten in contact with him to explain the details of our new story, if all is well.

"Well, I don't suppose that you have any idea why you were targeted by Blaise Zabini?" Auror Dawlish leans in towards me.

I try to fake a smile, "I have no memories related to magic. If I did know, I don't think I'd even be here. We didn't ever talk about Blaise, Terry and me. It hadn't occurred to me that Blaise was anything but a muggle. I actually thought it was Mandy Brocklehurst who altered my memory since she lied to Terry about her whereabouts during Easter, but I guess I don't much about that."

Auror Dawlish's eyebrows perk. Hestia leans back in her chair. I don't want to look at him. We hadn't discussed Mandy Brocklehurst, so I hope that I haven't misstepped.

Then, Auror Dawlish stands.

"I wish you a speedy recovery, Miss Turner," he doesn't even nod to me. "I hope to meet you under better circumstances, without a solicitor in the future."

"You have to understand, I was worried about Terry," I explain, shaking my head. "When Hermione Granger stopped by, she told me it was unnecessary, but she knows that I only have muggle memories. Muggles don't really trust the police."

Auror Dawlish offers a tight-lipped smile. Then, he tips his head and exits the room.

We are quiet for a few seconds. Hestia flicks the door closed with her wand.

"Excellent thinking, Miss Turner," Hestia says. "The comment about Mandy Brocklehurst was especially clever. I suppose they will be investigating the Brocklehurst family's ties with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named more seriously now."

Afterwards, Hestia leaves. I want to cast a silencing charm on the room so that I can sleep in private, but when I do, a healer stops by and asks me to remove it. They don't regard the use of such charms as safe while I am in here. It is impossible to sleep anyway. The cot I am in is so small that it is not possible to curl up on my side of the bed and imagine Draco on his.

In the morning, I found out they had to subdue me with a potion during the night. After pacing for some time, I tried to flee the hospital. I remember pacing, but I don't remember any effort that I made to leave. Then, they keep me in the hospital for two days more, trying to run more diagnostics and coax memories out of me. I only tell them parts of the memories that returned because of the augury tears. At least, I tell them I remember parts of being in Blaise's cellar, but not any information that could connect me to Draco.

On the third day, Hestia reappears. She shows me The Prophet. My tip has led to the beginning of a manhunt for Mandy Brocklehurst, which though mentioned on the front page, gets an article on the second and now there is even more buzz in the media about my return. Hestia decides it is the proper time to give the public an interview.

She arranges for a wizard by the name of Andy Smudgley to report on my presence. He is most well known for his coverage of criminal events as well as his mostly unbiased coverage. So, that afternoon, Andy Smudgley comes into my room. He sits across from me, fiddling with his long black braids while a quill takes notes on his behalf, floating in the air.

The interview begins with my explanation of the entire story as I gave to Dedalus. Andy Smudgley is more interested in my emotional reaction to the events rather than hard facts. He asks me about living with muggles, and what I experienced physically while in Inverness, and how it has impacted my head. He asks me what I know about my parents, and if I have had any contact with them. It seems like he actually cares not just about the scoop, but about the way that I experienced it.

"As strange as it is," I tell him, "it feels like part of me has returned. I felt like half a person there, and I suppose I was a full person, but only half of myself. That makes me sound like I'm more person than my body can handle. I guess that explains the headaches."

Then, he asks me how it was reintroduced to magic, and my experience living with Terry, and exactly the conditions I experienced while in Blaise's cellar. He looks entirely empathetic during the entire conversation. I don't want my voice to crack but it does. I explain the disconnect I feel with Marty, and how I am almost her, but definitely not her. I'm not even mostly Jane anymore. There is some liminal space between the two.

Blaise, when he took me to torture me again, was bored with how I had lost the fight that Marty had. Unlike Marty, I duped him.

The reporter does not ask me why I think I was targeted by Blaise. I suppose that this is not his aims for the article. It seems that people here are noticing me. I am not just the crime that happened to me, or the woman that slept with Draco (they remain unaware of this fact). Instead, I get to be part Jane, part Marty, and entirely me.

Although, as I'm telling the reporter my story, I feel as if a different half, a half that I had not even considered as part of me, is entirely missing. For I may be half Marty and half Jane, without acknowledging Draco's part in both of my lives, I am neither of them either.

~~~~~

The last line is such a banger for me, emotionally. I don't have much else to say about it, other than that it is heartbreaking. Also, there are only ten chapters left! It's going to be done so soon! As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments!