The two Healers stepped aside and conferred for two minutes, before Healer McMillan slowly explained, “I’m sorry. This is a brain problem, and the memory loss is probably permanent. The chance that the boy will get his complete memory back is null. However, he might be able to retrieve single memories if they’re triggered by something. Unfortunately, this is not the worst part of my bad news yet.” He paused, throwing a pitiful look at Harry, who in the meantime had drifted back to sleep. “The problem can re-occur at any time. We’ve been researching this problem for a few years now, but regrettably we’re not sure which circumstances are likely to trigger another memory loss.”

The female Healer took over and explained, “The boy has to be watched carefully so that he can be helped quickly in case it occurs again. We also suggest that he will be given the opportunity to put valuable memories in a Pensieve every night. There are some kinds of memory loss, in which it is recommendable that the patient gets his memories back on his own; however, in this case this is close to impossible. He may get memories back from his own old memories stored in a Pensieve. Apart from that, he must have people around him to help him and tell him whatever he needs to know. He might also easily forget things, and he will probably suffer from headaches and fevers from time to time like he currently does.”

“Will it make sense that he attends school at all?” Dumbledore queried with a shocked expression on his face that was missing the usual twinkle in his eyes.

“Well, he has to take notes, so that he can learn everything anew if necessary. It’s not as if the memory loss would be going to happen once a week. It might occur once in several months or even years,” Healer McMillan replied gently. “We are working on the problem, and our Potions Masters are trying to invent a potion that prevents another memory loss. Perhaps if you were willing to cooperate with our Potion Masters, Professor Snape, you’d be able to accomplish something in a short time.”

Snape inclined his head, acknowledging the compliment the Deputy Head Healer of St. Mungo’s had just made him. With that, the two Healers took their leave, causing everyone to remain pensive for a few minutes.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

“Severus,” the Headmaster was the first to find words, “I know that I’m asking a lot, but I need you to take the child in and become his guardian, together with Minerva or Poppy if you wish. He can’t possibly return to his dormitory and needs to be monitored closely as you heard.”

“Don’t tell me the ‘Potter chose you’ story again, Albus,” Snape replied slowly, glaring at the Headmaster. ‘But you are the one, whose company he chose and whom he confided in,’ a voice at the back of his mind spoke up, causing him to relent, “Well, in that case I need Poppy or Minerva to become his second guardian, because I’ll probably have to spend much time in my lab as well as at St. Mungo’s if we want the research for a potion for him to be fruitful.”

“I wouldn’t mind becoming Harry’s guardian, but considering his physical condition I think it would be better if he was living with Poppy and Severus, because they can easily help him if he has problems,” McGonagall said thoughtfully.

“That’s true,” Pomfrey agreed. “The problem is that I’m hardly ever in my personal quarters during the evening. I can leave the connecting door open of course, but he’s going to live with Severus anyway, isn’t he?”

The Headmaster cleared his throat. “I suggest that we let the house elves make a room for Harry in Severus’ quarters and add a connecting door from Harry’s room to Poppy’s quarters, so that Harry can enter both of your rooms as he wishes and needs.”

Snape and Pomfrey both agreed, and Dumbledore called a house elf, instructing him to make a room for Harry.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Harry woke up, he noticed that it was already getting dark outside; however, the torches between the windows in the hospital wing were still lit, throwing the room in a comfortable yellowish light. A blurry figure was sitting on the edge of his bed, gently handing him his glasses.

“Thank you. Oh, hello Madam Pomfrey,” Harry smiled at the Mediwitch, whom he liked very well, because she was extremely kind.

“Harry, Professor Snape just went to see your relatives in order to make them sign over the guardianship. We decided that Professor Snape and I should become your guardians if that’s all right with you,” Pomfrey told him in a soft voice, causing Harry to throw her a genuine smile.

“You and Professor Snape? Is that the black teacher?” he asked anxiously, sighing in relief when Madam Pomfrey nodded. “I’d like that very much, Madam Pomfrey. Does that mean that I don’t have to return to the Dursleys’ anymore?”

“Yes Harry, You can always stay here at Hogwarts with us, even during the summer holidays.” She let out a small sigh. “Harry, I must tell you something else. The Healers from St. Mungo’s informed us that you have a certain illness, which caused you to forget everything that happened over the last three years. This illness is also the reason for your headache and the fever. As this is a magical illness induced by a spell the Headmaster allowed us to become your guardians, considering that your relatives wouldn’t be able to help you at all if you had problems during the holidays. From now on, you’re going to live with us. The house elves have made a room for you, which is part of Professor Snape’s quarters and mine at the same time. If you feel well enough for a small walk through my office, we could move you into your own room right away.”

“I’d like that, but can’t I stay in my dormitory anymore? Professor Snape told me I had even friends in my House, and I never had friends before,” Harry replied, uncertainly playing with his bed covers.

“Harry,” Pomfrey hesitantly continued an explanation, which she had hoped not to have to give the boy right away, “the problem is that you could feel ill or could forget things from time to time, and therefore it will be the best if I can check on you every night before you go to bed and if you put your most important memories of each day into a Pensieve, which is a magical method to conserve a memory. That sounds worse than it is, Harry,” she added quickly, noticing Harry’s frightened expression. “Normally, you have to stay in our quarters overnight, which will be your home from now on. However, if you want to spend the night in Gryffindor for some reason and I have the impression that you’re completely well, I might allow you to remain in the dormitory overnight. All right, sweetie?”

“All right,” Harry replied in a small voice, feeling slightly consoled at the thought that for the first time in his life there were adults, who wanted to help him.

“Harry, your friends will be able to visit you in your own room whenever you wish. Tomorrow, we will speak with Professor Snape about the matter, but I think we should invite your two best friends, Hermione and Ron, to come and visit you here sometime during the holidays. You will probably need their assistance, and they should know exactly what’s wrong with you. They’ll be able to help you to a different extent than Professor Snape and I.”

They talked for a few minutes longer, before Pomfrey motioned Harry to get up and only take his wand with him. “You can leave your presents here; I’ll take them to your room later on,” she said gently as she led him through her office into her living room.

Harry took the offered seat on a sofa, looking around curiously. The room was held completely in white except for a group of dark blue chairs and a sofa surrounding a white table. On one side the walls were covered with white bookshelves, holding hundreds of books, of which Harry couldn’t read the exact titles from the distance, but from the few titles large enough to decipher he had the impression as if most of them were books about Healing. On the other side of the room were three huge magical windows. The left one showed a view on the Quidditch pitch, the one in the middle was a window to the empty hospital wing, and through the right one Harry could see part of the grounds and the lake.

“The view is beautiful,” he breathed in complete amazement, causing the Mediwitch to smile.

Pomfrey had told him to sit down in order to show him where each of the doors going out from her living room led, knowing that he wasn’t well enough to walk through her quarters right now. However, seeing how interestedly Harry looked around, she waited patiently.

“Harry, this door here,” she pointed to the door next to her office, “leads to your own room. The door over there leads to the kitchen, the next one to the bathroom, and the room next to yours is my bedroom. I’ll leave the door open at night just in case you need me.”

“All right, Madam Pomfrey. Thank you very much,” Harry replied gratefully.

“You’re welcome Harry. Please promise me that you’ll tell either Professor Snape or me if there is anything that bothers you, and if we’re alone or here at home, you may call me ‘Poppy’,” the Mediwitch instructed him softly. “Now, seeing that we both missed Christmas dinner, I suggest that we ask the house elves to bring us something to eat.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed wearily, not feeling hungry at all.

Just then the dark teacher, no... Professor Snape stepped into the doorframe from Poppy’s office. “Poppy, may I come in?”

“Of course, Severus, you come right in time for dinner,” Poppy replied, waving the man over.

“Hello Professor,” Harry said in a small voice, and the edges of his mouth pulled up slightly when the teacher took a seat next to him on the sofa. ‘Somehow, he looks very contented. Probably, the Dursleys have agreed happily to give up the guardianship over me,’ Harry mused, while he watched Poppy call a house elf and order dinner.

“Hello Mr. Potter,” Snape replied, causing Poppy to let out a small snort.

“Well, as you know we’re going to be something like a family. Don’t you think it would be nicer if you called each other with your given names, Severus?”

Snape raised an eyebrow at his colleague, before he turned to Harry. “At home and if we’re alone you may call me ‘Severus,’ and I’ll call you by your given name. However, at all other times, we have to use our formal names. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir,” Harry replied in a small voice, averting his eyes to the table, where Christmas dinner just popped up, causing him to observe the delicious looking food with amazement.

Poppy placed a little bit of everything on his plate, motioning him to eat as much as he could, before she threw Severus a curious look. “Severus, you look incredibly smug tonight. Please tell me what you did to the Dursleys.”

Harry threw a surprised glance at his new guardian, who raised an eyebrow at the Mediwitch, looking extremely innocent.

“Let’s say, they are... alive,” the Potions Master replied, smirking, “and they have a real chance to survive.”