"I don’t understand, it’s like she doesn’t remember any part of our relationship. Not the good parts, not even the bad parts. All she remembers is that I’m Severus from potions class. How could they have done this? None of them are smart enough to brew a potion with this effect. Maybe Remus but I know he’s not involved in this.” Severus paced around his dorm where Regulus, Lucius and Narcissa sat in various places around the room.

“This was Sirius’ plan I know it was. He must have found a spell somewhere. My guess is the restricted section in the library. I suggest we go out tonight and try to find whatever spell it was he used and see if we can reverse it. Otherwise who knows how long this could last, I mean they’re already planting false memories in her head.” Regulus told all of them.

“Do you think Remus will try to set things straight once he sees what they’ve done?” Narcissa asks.

“I don’t think they’re going to let him near her because they know he will. My guess they’re going to do everything they can to keep her away from him and us.”

“The Yule Ball is in a week. She was looking forward to this. We have to fix this before then, if she goes to the dance alone then gets her memory back it will crush her. It’s not like I’m going to have another chance to escort her. This is my last year in Hogwarts.” Severus sighed.

“Severus, you can’t give up. We’ve always figured it out and we will again.” Narcissa assured him.

“At what cost Narcissa? They’re never going to give up. No matter what they are going to continue to try and break us up. One of these times someone is going to get extremely hurt and knowing my luck it’s going to be Y/N. The one person I promised never to hurt. I broke that promise twice already and I can't break it again.” Severus spat.

“If you leave her then you’ll hurt her as well, Severus.” Regulus pointed out.

“Not if she doesn’t remember me.”

“Are you honestly suggesting that we do nothing? That we give up and just let her think that she doesn’t know any of us. For Merlin sake Severus after all you two have been through you’re going to give up now? We can figure this out, we go to the library tonight and what they did there is a good chance whatever it is can be reversed.” Lucius argued.

“Yes and then what? Then they try something else and we’re right back in this room searching for ideas on how to fix things. As much as I want to be with her as much as I love her, it is not risk her getting hurt. I have been hurt once in this whole ordeal she has been hurt over and over and over again. She doesn’t deserve this. This is toxic, it’s unhealthy, my happiness is not worth her pain and it never will be. Right now she’s angry, but she doesn’t seem sad, upset or stressed, all the things that I have brought into her lie since I’ve been in it. I can’t justify it. I thought I could, I tried to but I can’t anymore. I can’t keep putting her in danger. She has a way out now, a way that will keep her safe. I have to take it, even if I don’t want to. It’s the only way to keep her happy and safe.”

“This is madness and you know it.” Lucius snarled.

“Is it? Is me wanting to keep the girl I love safe really that crazy? You do as you please, I’m done. They aren’t going to stop and I am no longer willing to risk her safety and happiness for my own.” He snapped, leaving the room making sure to slam the door behind him.

“Are we really supposed to do nothing?” Regulus asked the others.

“No, we're going to the restricted section tonight and we’re going to figure out what they did.” Lucius insisted.

“Do you think he’s truly given up?”

“I think Severus is doing what he believes is right. He wants to keep her safe and happy and this is the easiest way he knows how to give her both.” Narcissa explained.

“Dinner will be starting in a few minutes. Let’s go eat then tonight we can start searching.” Lucius got up from his seat on his bed and held the door open motioning for the others to follow.

They all followed and went to the great hall where they found Severus already sitting at the table waiting for everyone. They could all tell he was having an internal debate. He kept glancing at you where you sat with your brother and his friends. He could see the confusion in Remus’ eyes. At one point Remus actually looked at Severus with a look that said “What the hell is going on?” but he couldn’t reply.

His friends sat next with him as always. It was the quietest meal the Slytherins had ever had together. No one knew what else to say. It was obvious they didn’t agree on how to deal with the current situation. No one wanted to bring it up but no one knew what else to talk about so they all sat in a peaceful silence. However it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that Severus would glance at you every few seconds and everyone noticed the sadness in his eyes when he saw you smiling and laughing. They knew seeing how happy you were without him hurt him in ways he could never explain. He should be happy that you were happy but it just didn’t feel right and no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that this was the selfless thing to do he couldn’t make himself believe it.

“You could always talk to her, you’re going to have to eventually. I mean she’s your potions partner.” Regulus told him after watching him glance at you for the hundredth time.

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow in class. We’re brewing tomorrow so I won’t be able to avoid it. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go study.” He rolled his eyes standing from his seat and going outside to the tree that used to be your shared tree. Now it’s just a reminder that you don’t even remember the significance of this tree.

“He’s already depressed. Imagine how bad it’s going to get in a week. All the progress he’s made will be gone.” Regulus ranted.

“It’s not just him we need to be worried about. Y/N has been getting better ever since she met Severus. She’s been taking her potion, a potion she didn’t even know she needed. Her brother didn’t pay enough attention to know that she wasn’t happy, that she was suffering from anxiety and an eating disorder. Now she’s likely to start falling back into the same habits again but this time she’s not going to remember what prompted her to stop in the first place. I don’t think Severus realizes that this plan can still manage to hurt her.” Narcissa tells them.

“Well we are going to find a way to fix this so there's no reason to panic yet. We need to be patient and things always work out. They may be Gryffindors but let’s face it, they’re not the smartest bunch, especially that group.” Regulus mumbled the last part.

“What if we asked Remus for help? I’m sure he could find what spell they used. Knowing your idiot brother he probably didn’t get rid of the paper with the spell he used. Maybe it’s in his dorm somewhere and Remus can find it tonight after he goes to sleep. They share a dorm; it shouldn't be that hard.” Narcissa suggested.

“We can give it a try. We’ll talk to him after the others leave. He normally goes to the library after dinner to find a book for tomorrow's lesson.” Lucius told them.

“Perfect and look at that, the Gryffindors are leaving just in time. And Remus went the opposite way as the other so let's go.” Regulus said, jumping from his seat.

Just as they thought Remus was looking at books trying to decide which would be best to prepare him for tomorrow’s lesson in whichever class he was deciding on studying for today.

“Remus, we need to talk to you about Y/N.” Lucius said, not even starting with a hello Which is how Remus knew something was really wrong. Lucius might be arrogant amongst other things but you could not deny that Lucius was polite. That’s how his pureblood family raised him and he wore it with pride.

“Yes I have some questions too. Like why is Y/N hanging out with her brother when we all know that she wants nothing to do with him.” Remus countered.

“Because your group of friends somehow wiped her memory of her and Severus’ relationship. All she knows is that Severus is her potions partner. We don’t know what spell or what potion they used but we need your help to try and fix whatever it is they did to her.” Lucius explained.

“I wasn’t part of this. You know that I would never take part in any plan to hurt her and Severus’ relationship.”

“We don’t think you did it. We just need your help to undo it. You share a dorm with Sirius and James. The three of us are going to try and find the spell they used and find a way to reverse it but it would be a lot faster if you could find the spell they used. Odds are it’s in your dorm. After they go to sleep tonight, find the spell and bring it to the library where we will be searching in the restricted section.” Regulus chimed in.

“Why isn’t Severus here with you?” He raised his eyebrow.

“Because Severus is… Severus thinks that it would be better if Y/N didn’t remember him.” Lucius said. He could see the confusion written on Remus’ face. “He knows James and Sirius are never going to stop and he’s worried if this continues Y/N is going to get seriously hurt. So he said that this is the best thing for her. For them to stop seeing each other and for her not to remember that they were ever together.”

“That’s ridiculous, they are happy together.” Remus argued.

“That’s why we said, which is why we’re here to get your help. We’re going to stay here and look through the restricted section. Will you help us?”

“....Yes, she’s my friend, Severus makes her happier than she was when she got here. I know how sad she was before she met him, the others may not have noticed but I did. I won’t let her go back to that.” He tells them. “I’ll have them asleep within the hour. We made a sleeping potion for a prank but I think they deserve a taste of their own medicine. Give an hour tops.” Remus told them before he disappeared out of the library with a book in hand.

‘Okay well, let’s start looking.” Lucius groaned looking at all the books they’d have to look through.

*********************************

“Guys look what I snatched from the kitchen.” Remus announced his presence with a tray of cupcakes.

“Mooney stole from the kitchen without us asking. What has the wizarding world come to?” Sirius joked.

“Oh please I steal sweets all the time and you know that.”

“Yeah we know.” They all agreed, taking a cupcake from the plate.

*********************************

“This is ridiculous, we’ll be looking through these books for weeks in order to find the right spell.” Regulus complained.

“Remus should be here any minute with the spell.” Lucius rolled his eyes.

“He better have it because if he doesn’t well be here every night for weeks and I am not giving up all my nights.” Regulus complained again.

“Just shut it. Look, there he is now.”

“I got it.” Remus approached with a small piece of white paper. “And you’re not going to like it.” He added grabbing a book off the shelf and opening it up to the spell. “Obliviate, a spell used to rid someone of their memories. There is no cure, no counter spell, no potion to fix it. The only hope you have is to pray that Sirius didn’t cast it well.” He pointed to the entry in the book.

“Effects are permanent unless the witch or wizard who cast the spell isn’t the most talented. In this case the spell could wear off over time. If this is not the case the only other cure is for the person who the spell was used on to regain their memories through similar experiences.” Lucius read out loud. “So we have to hope Sirius is a shitty wizard which isn’t a stretch. Or try to get Y/N to regain her memories by remaking them….. There is no cure.”