The next day, Severus went in to work in the morning and Harry spent most of the day with his children, swimming in the lake at Hogwarts and playing two-on-two Quidditch on the pitch. He'd been surprised to see Anna's new owl on the porch rail with the two dozen or so other owls that morning. He'd been ignoring them, knowing that most were delivering unsolicited letters for Severus, but when he'd gone out to fetch the Prophet, he thought he'd recognized Moonstone. The owl had ruffled its feathers and hooted at him, stretching out its leg which held not one but two small scrolls. When he moved to take the delivery, the other owls had begun to crowd in. James had saved the day by appearing with a bag of owl treats and had patiently removed each of the letters, passed out treats and shooed the owls away. He'd dropped the letters into the basket Harry had designated for Severus' fan mail, scrunching up his nose at the perfume wafting off them.

Moonstone had brought one letter for Harry, and one for Lily. Lily jumped from one foot to the other as she waited for him to remove the ribbon.

"Did you send Moonstone off? Is he waiting to take a letter back?"

"Go check on the porch," said Harry, smiling at his daughter's excitement. "I imagine Anna instructed him to wait for a reply." Lily ran out to the porch and Harry sat down at the table with his coffee and his note from Severus. It was brief, advising Harry that Severus would be spending the morning at work and would get himself to Hogwarts for his mid-afternoon meeting with Lucius Malfoy and appointment with Stuart. He explained—only enough to peak Harry's curiosity, of course, that something had occurred to him as he lay tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and he had to go into his office to research the idea further.

Harry, oddly worried that Severus would try to apparate—did he even remember that one couldn't apparate inside Hogwarts?—wrote a short reply advising Severus to floo to Harry's cottage and walk from there to the castle. He made a mental note to practice apparition with Severus. What were those three Ds again?

Moonstone was indeed waiting for a reply, and Harry hurried his daughter along, reminding her that she'd be seeing Anna again in the afternoon and didn't need to write a novel. Lily rolled her eyes—Harry was sure she'd inherited that gesture from Ginny—but soon Moonstone was winging off with his two replies, happy as any post owl who'd successfully delivered a letter, received an owl treat and been given a response. Harry dug out his own swimming shorts, put them on under his robes for the walk up to the lake, and rounded up the troops.

The children continued to play in the water long after Harry had stretched out on a blanket on the shore, tired from the sun and the exertion. He was joined there after a time by Neville, who had been up at Hogwarts getting the greenhouses ready for the upcoming term. Neville was already a seasoned Hogwarts Professor. He'd begun teaching Herbology soon after gaining his mastery, nearly ten years ago. While Harry dodged curses and chased after madmen for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Neville settled comfortably into teaching and had become a fixture at Hogwarts, a much-loved professor with a gentle nature who proved to be a natural at teaching and a trusted colleague.

"Alone today, eh?" asked Neville, settling down on the blank beside Harry.

"If you mean 'Where's Snape?'—he went in to work this morning. Apparently had some sort of cosmic revelation as he was tossing and turning in bed last night and had to do some research."

Neville grinned. "Not the kind of research you can do at Hogwarts I take it?"

Harry returned the grin. "Nah, I assume it involved Muggle pharmaceuticals and computers." He sobered a bit and shook his head slightly. "I can't even imagine it, Neville. He's lived as a Muggle for twenty years and acquired all this new knowledge the Muggle way. He's an expert in his field."

"I can't see how that's a problem, Harry," put in Neville. He picked up a stone and tossed it side-armed into the lake where it skipped several times before sinking.

"Oh, that part's not the problem," answered Harry. "It's… Hey! No dunking!" James jumped hurriedly away from Albus, holding up his hands in an 'I'm innocent' posture. "Sorry…how did we ever survive childhood without parents watching our every move?" He meant it as rhetorical question, forgetting that Neville, like himself, had grown up without parents.

"Anyway," continued Harry after an uncomfortable pause, "What I meant about Snape is that now he's getting back another forty years of memories and knowledge—all that he learned as a Potions Master and as a student and a teacher. And you know how his brain must be working on overdrive to mix it all up. He's been working on a way to prevent senile dementia—Alzheimer's Disease—and now he's got a whole new arsenal of ingredients and processes to try."

"That could drive a man insane," said Neville. "Trying to integrate Muggle knowledge with magical processes."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, but if anyone can do it…"

"Snape can." Neville returned the smile as he watched Harry's children playing in the water. "Lily sure looks like Ginny," he said quietly after a long moment. "Seems like yesterday when we were kids here." Another drawn-out moment. "Do you think Snape can help her, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "I don't want to get my hopes up, Nev. I've been down that road already." He laughed softly. "But if anyone can do it…"

"Snape can," finished Neville.

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" quipped Harry.

Neville laughed. "The man is brilliant. Scary and brilliant."

"A lot less scary than he used to be though," replied Harry. He looked over his shoulder back up at the castle. It was difficult, in the bright light of this August day, to see the castle as he had twenty years ago, on the night of the Final Battle, in the waxing light of the May morning following the night's victory, through the human carnage and destruction. "It's the best thing that could have happened to him, really. Dumbledore—one of them, anyway—must have known it was the only way to give him a chance at happiness."

"He's almost human now," mused Neville. "No, strike that. He is human now. Seeing him with his daughter…"

"I know what you mean," said Harry. "Hard to believe I'd have so much in common with him."

"And after all he did for you in the past…that he'd have one more thing to do for you all these years later." Neville's voice was matter-of-fact.

"I can't just keep on taking," said Harry with a sigh. "I already owed him one before he came back…"

Neville laughed, shaking his head. "Owed him one? Harry—don't you think getting rid of Voldemort settled your scores? You don't owe anyone anything—you never have."

Harry's eyes had a far-away look. "Yes I do, Nev. I owe Ginny. I at least owe her a chance." He paused and looked at Neville. "Maybe he can help your…"

"Don't, Harry," said Neville, tossing another flat stone into the water. "It will be enough if he can help Ginny."

/

The Potters dried off with an hour of Quidditch after their late morning swim then Harry took the children home for lunch. Lily fell asleep on the sofa while he and the boys cleaned up and he tucked a light cover over her and admonished the boys to let her sleep while he headed back to the castle for the meeting with Lucius Malfoy. Severus was already at Hogwarts—they had met him on their way back to the cottage for lunch. Severus had been striding up the path, dressed in black trousers and a long-sleeved green turtle-neck. He slowed as he approached.

"Where's Anna, Professor?" asked Lily immediately.

"She's home with her nanny," answered Severus. "She'll be back with me tomorrow."

"Oh." Lily sounded disappointed. She kicked a rock at her feet. Harry tapped her on the head and gave her a warning look.

"I thought I would look through my closet for something appropriate to wear…over these…" said Severus, sounding a bit uncertain and indicating his clothing. "Lucius will be overdressed, I am sure, and I did not have time to shop for new robes…"

"By now Lucius has spoken with Draco and with the Parkinsons," said Harry. "He'll know exactly what to expect when he meets you. Don't pretend to be something you're not, Severus," he advised, adding, "And you look perfectly fine."

Severus looked uncertain. "I have been racking my brain to try to determine what he wants from me. As far as I can remember, we were not so much friends as…" he paused here, choosing his next word carefully.

"…associates."

Harry had sent the children ahead then, promising to catch up in a minute.

"Severus," he said, his voice low and serious. "You, Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy are the only known persons with the Dark Mark that aren't dead or in Azkaban. Until you reappeared, no one, well, no one except perhaps Lucius' wife Narcissa, had hard proof of Lucius' specific activities during Voldemort's reign. Don't get me wrong—he isn't claiming complete innocence. He was able to convince the Wizengamot that…"

"Wizengamot." Severus had repeated the word and then smiled. "I had forgotten about that body…"

Harry shook his head. "He convinced them that he wanted to defect but he stayed loyal to Voldemort to protect his wife and son. That he was coerced. I guess it helped him that I defended his wife and kept her out of prison."

"Where are you going with this, Harry?" Severus glanced backward to where the children had no disappeared around a bend in the path.

"Lucius Malfoy wants to know what you remember. Specifically, what you remember about him. At this point, I wouldn't let on that you remember anything specific about the three years before you disappeared."

Severus regarded Harry a long moment. Gone was the protective father and boarding school professor. Looking at him instead was the face of a seasoned auror, a law enforcement professional who'd seen his share of the seedy side of the street. Severus straightened his shoulders, inexplicably impressed by this Harry.

"Thank-you. I'll take that advice. You will be there for the meeting at 2 o'clock, won't you?"

Harry checked his watch. "I'll have to hurry, but yes, I plan to be there. I'll floo right to Minerva's office after I get lunch for the kids."

Severus nodded and proceeded on his way.

It was five minutes before 2 o'clock when Harry stepped into Minerva's office from her floo and dusted off his robes. He'd forgone his most formal wizarding attire for what passed as "business" wear in the Wizarding world—long dark blue robes, just brushing the floor, buttoned from the waist up and open below, over formal black trousers. He'd put on his favorite boots, made of black leather, supple and well-worn from his days in the MLE.

Minerva, sitting behind her desk with a quill in her hand, nodded her approval at his appearance.

"Severus met Lucius at the front door a few minutes ago. They are making their way up here now. Have a seat." She indicated a grouping of four chairs around a low tea table. Harry left the serving seat for her and chose the chair that left him the best view of the door. He sat down, smoothing out his robes as he did so, the gesture second nature after nearly 30 years of wearing robes. He adjusted his collar, remembering the countless times Ginny had performed that gesture for him. He let his eyes stray over to Minerva, who looked up at the door seconds before he heard the knock.

"Come in, Severus, Lucius," she said, standing and moving toward the door. Minerva still moved gracefully, despite being well past retirement age. She threatened to retire almost every year, and had recently told the Board of Governors that this would be her last year as Headmistress.

Severus entered first. He nodded first to Minerva, then to Harry as Harry stood and offered his greeting. Severus was wearing simple yet fairly formal black robes over the trousers and turtle neck he'd been wearing an hour before when Harry met him outside. He took the chair opposite Harry's, leaving Lucius to sit between Harry and himself. Lucius greeted Minerva, accepted Harry's proffered hand and sat in the remaining chair with a posture that clearly indicated that he was in charge. He waited politely for Minerva to serve the tea before he spoke.

"On behalf of the Board of Governors, I am delighted to welcome our former Headmaster back to Hogwarts," he began. Severus jerked around as clapping started behind him, remembering after a moment that the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses were again expressing their approval at his return. The polite clapping died down after a moment, and Lucius continued. "But I am here not only as a representative of the Board of Governors, but as a personal friend of Severus Snape…"

"And you have already welcomed me in that regard, Lucius," spoke up Severus, the expression on his face so very Snape-like that Harry felt a sudden pang of nostalgia for all the detentions he'd served with Snape while he was a student.

Lucius shot a similar look at Severus, not at all taken aback by Snape's interruption.

"I am anxious to hear the entire story, of course," he said, relaxing back into his chair. "Up to this point, I've read only what the Prophet reported and heard what my son had to say after his short meeting with you yesterday. I imagine there is much more to the story." He settled back in the chair, waiting.

Minerva and Harry exchanged a quick glance, then Minerva spoke up. "As you certainly know, Lucius, Harry has long believed that Severus survived the…incident…in the Shrieking Shack and over the years has followed a number of leads that led…well…nowhere. While there was no proof that Severus was dead, there was also no irrefutable proof that he was alive. However, a new student on the Hogwarts rolls for this year caught our attention. Harry did the follow-up home visit and discovered Severus." She raised her teacup to her lips and said, almost speaking into the cup, "And that was that."

"Hardly," said Lucius, looking over his cup at Harry. "What exactly did you find there, Harry?" While under any other circumstances, he would have referred to Harry as "Mr. Potter," he easily slid into the form of address that the others were using.

"I found Stephen Squires and his daughter Anna," answered Harry casually.

"Oh for Heaven's sake, Harry," said Severus, rolling his eyes. "Lucius, there simply isn't much to tell. I was suffering from amnesia and had no memories of my life as a wizard. I was living as a Muggle and raising an 11-year-old daughter. I was working—I still work—as a research scientist for a large pharmaceutical company."

Obviously, Lucius was interested in quite another part of the story.

"But how, Severus? How did you survive? Surely you have some idea—at least by now, with your memory restored?"

"My memory is not fully restored," answered Severus, rather stiffly. "I have pieces, some isolated memories and some longer tracts." He looked directly at Lucius and added "I doubt I will ever recover all that was lost. I will have to be content with what I can piece together. It will have to be enough."

Lucius leaned forward, gripping the serpent-headed cane on his lap tightly. "Was there a memory block, Severus? A spell? Were you obliviated?"

"They do not know," replied Severus. "Or at least the test results are inconclusive. The healers could find no evidence of a block of any sort, intentional or otherwise."

Minerva looked at Harry. They'd all been dancing around the real cause of Severus' amnesia but no one had really voiced it yet. Harry caught Minerva's gaze and sighed.

"The most likely cause of Severus' amnesia is what he did for me in the Shrieking Shack," said Harry, looking at Severus instead of Lucius. It felt good, finally, to voice this after tiptoeing around the obvious for several days. "He thought he was dying—that he was out of time. He forced the memories out—it must have taken a tremendous amount of magical energy to do that, and I doubt he had as much control as he needed, especially toward the end as he got weaker and weaker." Harry's voice caught in his throat, but he continued. "I think…and I'm not an expert of course…but from what I've seen as Severus' memories have been returned, the volume of memories he released left him without good connections to the memories he retained. Coupled with the blood loss, the oxygen deprivation and the general trauma…"

"Ah…" Lucius leaned back in his chair. He looked…satisfied. "Tell me, then, how it is that you survived?"

"Apparently, I had made arrangements in advance with Albus," replied Severus. "It was his brother—Abeforth—that cared for me and got me established in the Muggle world when I recovered. Though I do not yet recall much of my year here as Headmaster, I apparently wanted a new start if I survived the war."

"And this whole time—these past twenty years—you had no inkling at all? No suspicions?"

Severus leveled a stare at Lucius. It was clear to Harry, at that moment, that the two had not been friends.

"None. I didn't have even a glimmer of recognition for a person or a place until Harry Potter knocked on my door this past weekend."

"I bet you're thankful you had a magical child, then," said Lucius. He selected a pastry from among the delicacies on the tea tray and looked at it critically.

Severus' gaze hardened. Harry saw the change immediately, but Lucius, fortunately or not, was too busy scrutinizing the pastry to notice.

"I am thankful for my child, yes," he stated, leaving off the "magical" adjective. "And I have been thankful for her for more than eleven years now."

Lucius looked up and met Severus' challenging gaze. This Severus, this man that looked like a Muggle plucked down in the middle of Hogwarts, hair too short, clothes too modern, stance too relaxed, was as formidable now as he ever was.

"I look forward to meeting her," said Lucius smoothly. "I am sure she is a capable witch. Has she inherited her father's…?"

"Nose?" Snape cut off Lucius and smiled. After a moment, Lucius smiled back. Harry thought the smiles genuine, for a change, and not challenging. Obviously a remembered joke between old…associates. "No, she has not. As for her other talents, we shall have to see. I've known that my daughter is a witch for not much longer than a week now."

"And will she follow her father's footsteps into Slytherin House?" asked Lucius.

"I haven't given that any thought," replied Severus.

But Minerva and Harry were both smiling. "She's about as Slytherin as Hagrid," said Harry. "I'd put money on Ravenclaw. You should hear that girl. Reminds me so much of Hermione at that age…"

"Not that there's anything wrong with Slytherin, of course," added Minerva diplomatically. "Anna will find friends and a home wherever the Sorting Hat places her."

"Ravenclaw," muttered Harry.

Lucius, unused to playful banter, turned the conversation back to his own agenda again.

"I called an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors yesterday to discuss an upcoming vacancy on the Board…"

"Vacancy?" questioned Minerva. "I was not informed of a vacancy on the Board of Governors." She placed her teacup in its saucer and leveled a calculating look at Lucius.

"Upcoming vacancy," said Lucius solicitously. "Constantine Arturis hasn't officially announced his retirement, but has made it known to the Chair of the Board that he will vacate his position as soon as a suitable replacement can be found."

"Arturis has served on the Board since…" Minerva was almost speechless. She was fairly certain that the old coot had been on the Hogwarts Board back when she was a student.

"Since 1943," finished Lucius with an exaggerated sigh. "He is the last of the old 'life-timers.' He has been out-of-touch with the realities of the modern world for decades."

"As you may or may not know," continued Lucius, "there is a special provision in the by-laws by which life-time Board members are replaced by appointment of the current Chair." He paused and looked expectantly at Severus. "As that position is currently mine, I would like to extend to you, Severus, an invitation to join the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

Harry and Minerva looked flabbergasted. Severus looked confused.

"I don't understand," he began. "What qualifications…"

"It's an incredible honor," said Minerva, recovering her voice.

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Harry, almost in awe. Severus obviously did not remember yet the prestige associated with a Hogwarts Board position, nor the power the Board wielded in determining curriculum.

"Qualifications?" said Lucius, his attention back on Severus. "You have a Potions Mastery, Severus. You served as Headmaster of this school. You are a gifted wizard." He looked somewhat confused and glanced over at Minerva. She reached out and placed her hand on Severus' shoulder.

"Accept Mr. Malfoy's offer, Severus," advised Minerva. "Trust me, it is the right thing to do."

Severus narrowed his eyes at Minerva but apparently got the message. He turned toward Lucius. "I am honored to accept your offer, Lucius."

Another round of tea, some general information about the duties of the Board of Governors and the meeting schedule and Lucius left, escorted by Minerva to the gates of Hogwarts from where he would apparate out. Harry and Severus walked slowly down to the infirmary to meet Poppy and Stuart.

"I've never seen Minerva so excited," said Harry, grinning at Severus. "She could hardly keep her hat on. She's been secretly hoping old Arturis would keel over for years now. He's one of the reasons Hogwarts hasn't instituted a fine arts program and that old Binns taught History of Magic for so many years. Merlin, Severus, you're perfect for the Board of Governors! You're young…"

"I'm nearly 60, Harry," interrupted Severus.

Harry laughed. "OK, you're not quite middle-aged, then, and you'll have a daughter here—a vested interest in how things operate at the school. Even better you have twenty years of life in the Muggle world—you know what the Muggle World does right in their educational system. You could really help shake things up…"

"I am relatively certain that it was not Lucius' intent to 'shake things up,' remarked Severus.

"No," said Harry. "I'm sure it wasn't."

They walked together until they reached the infirmary door.

"How did your research go this morning, anyway?" asked Harry.

Severus smiled. "I've been at this job for more than ten years now, Harry, and I've made some significant advances. With the small amount I've gotten back already, I may be able to move the needle on Alzheimer's research significantly in as little as a year…"

"Move the needle?" asked Harry, frowning.

Severus rolled his eyes. Wizards.

/

Severus and Anna joined the Potters for an early dinner at their Hogsmeade cottage that night. It was a fairly calm affair. The Potter children were exhausted after a day in the sun, Severus was quiet after another memory restoration session, even Harry was introspective, remembering the look on Severus' face after yet another restored childhood memory. Harry could only imagine what connections Severus' mind had made after viewing the memory of himself and Lily, sitting in the quiet grove of trees, talking about getting their Hogwarts letters. "How are things at your house?" Lily had asked Severus. "Doesn't your dad like magic?" And Severus' answer. "He doesn't like anything, much."

"Why don't we all floo over to the Burrow for a little while?" suggested Harry. "Molly's bound to have cake and coffee and we can tell them your news, Severus." He glanced over at Severus, who nodded, understanding that Harry wanted Severus to see Ginny again, to do that "follow up" he had promised.

A half hour later, the children were playing with Rose and Hugo, who were staying at the Burrow for a few days, and Severus and Harry were having cake and coffee in the kitchen with Molly, Arthur and surprisingly, Ginny. Harry had greeted Ginny in her room with the customary kiss on the cheek and offer to read but Severus had stepped in behind him.

"Molly has coffee ready in the kitchen," he announced. "Why don't you both join us there?" He addressed Ginny in particular, and she met his eyes, looking worried.

Everything in Harry wanted to sit quietly on the sofa with Ginny tucked in to his side, reading to her as he had read to the children when they were smaller, reading simple stories and timeless young people's classics, Muggle and Wizard alike. But he knew what Severus was trying to do and realized—not too late, he hoped—that keeping Ginny apart from the daily activity of life was not, in fact, helping her in the long run. He stood up and offered his hand to Ginny, helping her stand and steadying her as she sought balance on unstable feet.

Molly looked a bit surprised when Harry helped Ginny into a chair and sat down beside her. Ginny's hand was unsteady as she ate her cake but Severus stilled Harry's hand as he reached to help her.

"The cake is delicious, Ginny," said Arthur, smiling at his daughter.

"Did you make the cake, Ginny?" asked Severus.

"She did all the mixing…" answered Molly, her voice fading out as she realized she'd answered for her daughter. She looked apologetically at Severus.

"How many eggs did you use?" continued Severus, still directing his questions at Ginny.

Ginny glanced at her mother, who was looking with interest at the thin piece of chocolate rum cake on her plate. Ginny shook her head, obviously straining to remember. Her brain, it seemed, could not pull out even such a simple piece of information from an activity not more than two hours ago.

"Ginny, show me how many eggs," urged Severus. He mimed cracking an egg over a bowl.

Harry, Molly and Arthur were all staring at Severus. Nothing in their personal arsenal of tricks gained in working with Ginny over the past year had any relevance to what Severus was now doing.

"How many eggs, Ginny?" he repeated, once again miming cracking an egg.

Ginny, to everyone's surprise, thoughtfully began to mime cracking an egg as well.

Then she cracked another. Then two more. She stopped, and looked at Molly.

"Four eggs?" asked Severus. This time he glanced over at Molly, who nodded, biting her bottom lip.

"Well, it's excellent," said Harry, using his finger to wipe crumbs from the plate and lift them to his mouth. Ginny giggled.

"You like that, do you?" asked Harry, feeling for a brief moment that he was twelve again, and that Ginny was a shy eleven-year old, poking her head out from around the corner of her bedroom door, giggling then slamming her door shut in embarrassment. He licked his finger then, transferring the rich chocolate to his mouth and licking his lips.

Ginny, too, had finished her cake. She mimicked Harry's gesture, wiping her finger on the plate to lift off a glob of chocolate icing. But instead of licking it off her own finger, she offered it to Harry, holding it in front of his mouth, a playful, innocent smile on her face.

To Severus, it was the most heart-wrenching moment he'd had since rejoining the Wizarding world. Had Harry and Ginny been an ordinary couple, he would have felt like a voyeur on an intimate moment.

But Harry and Ginny were not an ordinary couple. As Harry tentatively opened his mouth, Ginny moved her finger to the side, wiping the chocolate icing on Harry's cheek. She giggled, sounding like a school girl.

The disappointed look on Harry's face stayed with Severus a very long time.