A white explosion threw Severus backwards with enough force to knock him off his feet. Only long experience in duels kept him holding his wand in a death grip.

He felt his head hit the rough stone with a feeling composed of both relief and regret. Relief because his part in this whole sordid mess was finally over. Regret because his tasks were yet unfinished.

He hoped the Death Eaters would never find out that Poppy had killed him. The school needed her more than ever.

The next thing he was aware of was lying in his back, on a bed.

Something warm, damp and soft lay across his eyes. In one hand he still held his wand. Someone was holding the other hand, firmly.

The cloth across his eyes smelled of healing potion; the one used on potion burns. And accident then? Or had he had the bad luck to be found by the Carrows before Poppy's potion could finish him off?

Perhaps Narcissa was holding his hand? She owed him, after all.

"What..?" he began. He stopped, because the voice that emanated from his throat was not his. It was a high, clear, childish voice.

"Shh." said a girl's voice, softly, "Don't talk. You got that whole potion in your face." It must be she, holding his hand.

"L-Lily?" gasped Severus, his throat was burning. Apparently, he'd taken a lungful of whatever had exploded in his face.

"Yes. It's me. I told you, don't talk." She replied firmly.

Severus felt himself start to tremble. Was he dead, then? At Lily's side?

No. This was merely a dream. He had to remember that. No matter what, he had to remember that this was all a potion induced hallucination, most likely drawing from his own subconcious. His own mind taking him to a time before he made his horrible mistakes.

On the other side of him, another girl's voice said, "I'll go get Madam Pomfrey."

Severus took a deep breath, his throat aching in a way that had very little to do with potion's accidents.

"It's a shame this had to happen the last day of term." Lily went on, holding his hand more tightly, "But, Dad's coming to get us this morning. You slept right through from yesterday afternoon."

That didn't make much sense. What did she mean by that?

Severus reminded himself firmly that this was all a dream and bound to be odd.

"All right, Mister Potter." Poppy's voice was saying, soothingly, "How do you feel?"

Severus couldn't get away from the bloody Potters, even in his dreams. He sighed irritably, listening to the woman, waiting to find out if it was Harry or James Potter he had to contend with.

No one answered her.

Lily shook him, "Did you fall back asleep?" she asked, kindly "Madam Pomfrey wants to know how you feel."

"I-I..." stuttered Severus, confused, "I'm all right?" his voice sounded far too young and frightened. He didn't mean to sound as though he was asking a question.

"Do your eyes still hurt?" Poppy asked him.

Severus shook his head, carefully.

"All right, it sounds like this poultice can come off." Poppy said, gently. He felt her gather up the cloth on his eyes, "Open your eyes slowly. I've spelled the lights down."

He blinked his eyes open slowly, letting them adjust to the dim light. He was in one of the hospital wing beds, surrounded by curtains. He looked towards Lily and nearly sobbed with disappointment. The girl sitting next to him on the bed, holding his hand was not Lily Evans.

For her part, she smiled with relief, her brown eyes dancing, "I've been so worried!" she said, happily, giving his hand an extra squeeze. Her voice was Lily's, exactly. The rest of her, though...She had brown eyes and dark auburn hair, quite unlike Lily's copper. He pulled back his hand.

"Lily?" he whispered, feeling broken inside. Even in his dreams, he wasn't to be given his heart's desire.

"Yes, Tim?" the girl asked expectantly.

Severus shook his head, noting that the girl was wearing Hufflepuff robes. Another girl, with dark brown hair, clear blue eyes and Ravenclaw robes settled herself in the chair next to the bed.

They both looked at him in expectation. He hadn't felt so abashed by children since he, himself, had been one one. He glanced down at his hands.

They were not his hands. One hand still clutched his wand, but the fingers of the hand were smaller on the handle than they should have been. The fingers were still long, but they were not nearly as pale as his own hands. Nor were they stained and calloused in the way his hands were. They were the hands of a young boy, not a man.

Poppy came around the curtain. Severus was shocked at how old she looked. She had aged twenty, perhaps thirty, years since he had last seen her, five minutes ago. She handed him a bottle of potion, "For your throat." she said, briskly, then she turned to the Ravenclaw girl, "Go on then, Miss Barton. The train will be leaving soon. I'm sure your cousins will be fine until their father gets here."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." the girl said. She bent towards Severus and put her arms around him. He flinched back, putting the hand not holding his wand up between them. She didn't seem to take much notice, giving him a quick squeeze around the shoulders and then hugged the Hufflepuff girl, "Daddy and Papa say we're coming to your house Christmas Eve." She said, "I'll see you then." She scampered out of the door.

"All right, Mister Potter." Said Madam Pomfrey, "You can get up and get dressed now, if you like."

Severus stared at the woman, mystified. She was looking directly at him.

"Do you mean me?" He faltered, when it seemed she was waiting for a response.

Madam Pomfrey frowned, "Of course, I mean you, dear." She pulled out her wand and waved it, making a little concerned noise in her throat. When she next spoke, it was very gently, "Can you tell me your name, love?"

Severus thought fast. This was only a dream. Of course it was. However, some deep instinct warned him to keep his identity secret. No telling how long he would be trapped in this dream.

He settled for shaking his head, "I-I'm not sure." he replied, uncertainly.

Madam Pomfrey and the false Lily looked at each other, "Do you know where you are?" asked Madam Pomfrey, her voice taking on a more concerned tone.

"Hogwarts?" hazarded Severus.

Madam Pomfey nodded, then she asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

The very last thing, "Something blew up?" Severus asked.

Poppy nodded, soberly, "And before that?"

"I think, I drank one of your potions." Severus said. If this was some plot of hers, he wanted her to know he remembered that much.

"No, that was after Professor Bulstrode brought you here." said The-Girl-Who-Was-Not-Lily.

"Lily?" called an older boy's voice. Severus' grip on his wand tightened. The boy's voice sounded very much like the younger Potter, but not quite right, "How's Tim?"

The Hufflepuff girl looked at Severus with concern, "He's awake...but..."

A boy with green eyes stuck his head around the curtain. When he came around the curtain, Severus saw that he also wore Ravenclaw robes and a prefect badge. He also looked like the girl's close kin, for all he was raven haired and green eyed. He smiled broadly at Severus and said, "Dad's talking to the Headmistress and Professor Bulstrode."

The boy seemed to talk like Severus should know who he was talking about, so Severus just nodded.

"I better go and speak to your father." Said Madam Pomfrey, worriedly, "Look after him for a few minutes." she told the boy.

The boy looked at Not-Lily, "What's that about?" he asked, settling down next to her one the bed so he could look at Severus.

"He's having trouble remembering things." said the girl, biting her lip in a Lily-like fashion, "You know me, though, don't you, Tim?" she said, anxiously.

Severus nodded, slowly. Feeling he had to humor her. She was enough like his Lily that he didn't like to hurt her feelings.

Even if this was a dream.

"What about me, then?" asked the boy, his eyebrows knitted together. He looked like he was about sixth year, he could have been Potter's brother by his looks (the younger one, because of the eyes)

Severus couldn't even hazard a guess, so he just shook his head.

Alarm bloomed in those green eyes, "Did Madam Pomfrey say whether it was the potion that messed up his memory?" he asked the girl.

The girl was still looking at Severus, "No, she didn't." she said, sounding upset.

"I expect it is," the boy said bracingly, "Remember when James fell off his broom that time? He was out cold for a week and all confused for a day or two after that." He turned to Severus, "You'll be right as rain by Christmas, you watch."

"I...I better get dressed." Muttered Severus, suddenly conscious of sitting here in his pajamas, with these two children behaving so familiarly. The girl wasn't any older than fourth year, at best.

"Need any help?" the boy asked, solicitously.

"No." Snapped Severus, "Thank you." he said, more civilly.

Both the boy and girl seemed to take his shortness in stride, looking at each other indulgently, it seemed. If anything, his answer seemed reassuring to them for some reason.

"See, Lily." the boy whispered as they walked around the curtain, "He just got his brains a little rattled. He'll be fine."

Severus slid carefully out of the bed. That was a shock (the latest in the series). He was short. The robes sitting folded on the chair were student robes, with the Slytherin crest. He felt that such small garments could possibly fit him, but as he looked down at himself, he realized that his body, as well as his hands, was that of a young boy. Rather than black hair hanging down around his face, yellow hair hung in his eyes.

He shucked his pajamas and pulled on his trousers and pullover, refusing to linger too long on that aspect of this dream. He shrugged into his robes, and then picked his wand up off the bed where he'd lain it. He examined it, closely. The wand was his, indeed. The same wand that had chosen him at Ollivander's all those years ago.

Steeling himself, he turned to look into the small mirror that was on the bedside table. Blue eyes stared back at him, the picture of surprise. Blonde hair framed his face in soft waves. Pink, round cheeks and a soft, almost cherubic, mouth. A more attractive child than he'd ever been when he was a child. The kind of child women oohed and aahed over.

A first year, judging by the lack of height and the softness of the jaw. Severus was not going further than that to ascertain what kind of body this dream had shoved him into.

"Tim?" called a voice. An adult's this time, a man, "Can I come in?"

"Er...Yes." Severus called back, cursing the way his child's voice wavered.

The man who parted the curtain shouldn't have been a surprise. Severus took a step back, nonetheless.

He had many more lines in his face and he was taller than he had been when Severus had last seen him (although that might have been a trick of their relative sizes). He was unmistakable, with his glasses and scruffy hair. Severus could just see the scar was under the wind blown black fringe.

Severus nearly exclaimed aloud, stopping himself at the last moment.

So this had been Poppy's game. A more devious torture than Severus would have credited her with. This dream would turn to nightmares before the potion killed him. Poppy knew very well the charater of Severus' own childhood. So he was doomed to play it out with Potter playing the role of Tobias Snape.

"Mr. Potter." Severus said, stiffly preserving what dignity he could.

Potter's face turned stricken. He walked very slowly to the bed and sat on it. He folded his hands on his lap, as though preventing himself from reaching out to grab Severus.

"Oh, Tim, love." he said, softly, "Are we back to that?"