"I - I don't know what to think," Harry stammered, once he and Hermione had snuck back to the infirmary.

"Well," Hermione hesitated, "you have to admit, it makes sense. It's a wonder we didn't see it coming earlier." Harry nodded as he sank onto his bed, and sat against the headboard.

"Do you think there's any more food around here somewhere?" he asked. Hermione called for Dobby, who brought Harry some supper from the leftovers in the kitchens. Hermione stayed with Harry for the rest of the evening.

"I wonder how Snape's doing," Harry finally commented.

"He'll come to you when he's ready," Hermione advised. "He'll be fine."

"He doesn't know about Dumbledore, though," Harry lamented.

"He will soon enough," Hermione comforted him. "As soon as you tell him, he'll know."

"He's really not as bad as he puts on," Harry said.

Severus was curled into a fetal position in his bed as he tried to recover from the migraine. With the medicine, it was just a matter of time until it kicked in and he began to feel better.

As soon as he made it to his chambers, though, he had drunk, in quick succession, three tumblers of water. His stomach had protested to this, and combined with the nausea induced by the migraine, it had resulted in a full fifteen minutes of retching in the bathroom. So Severus poured himself another glass of water and set it next to his bed. He took tiny sips occasionally, but it required all of his self-control not to drain the glass again.

Finally, from sheer boredom, Severus fell asleep. His dreams were odd. Dreams of could-have-been memories, possibly real memories. Dreams of Lily, of being happily married with a child. When he woke up, Severus wondered if perhaps Harry was right - that the migraines were a method of remembering.

Damn Dumbledore. Severus knew he could have been happy, and that was taken from him. He would never know - he would never know for sure - what it was like to have been married to Lily. He could never know what was memory leaking through the insanity of the migraine and what was wishful thinking. Overcome with an intense grief, Severus curled tighter in on himself and closed his eyes. Obviously a particle of some sort had lodged itself in his eye, because they began to water, and the bed sheet became increasingly damp.

After several more hours, and another nap, Severus finally rose from his bed and went to the bathroom. He leaned over the sink and looked in the mirror. He looked terrible.

"Who am I?" he asked his reflection. "What am I? Will I ever know?" Severus grabbed a nearby washcloth and made himself a bit more presentable. Now that the migraine had finally abated, Severus began to think about what to do next.

He should probably go see how Harry was doing. Severus set the cloth in a lump on the sink counter, and rubbed his temples. The migraine may have gone away, but it left a residual bruised feeling in his brain for a few hours. It wasn't so painful, but it was odd. He grabbed his cloak, pulled it about himself, and set off for the infirmary.

When he got there, he slipped through the main doors silently. He saw Harry resting quietly on his bed and Hermione dozing in a chair next to it. Not wishing to disturb Harry from much needed rest, Severus settled in an overstuffed armchair on the other side of the infirmary. He could see Harry and Hermione, and they could see him, if they woke. He, also, began to doze.

"Severus!"

Severus started and gasped. He drew his wand and was on his feet in a moment.

"It's only me!" Poppy called out, raising her hands as Severus lowered his wand.

"My apologies," he said, sounding annoyed. "You should know to wake people slower than that."

"Of course, of course," Poppy replied. "What are you doing here? How are you feeling?"

"Hungry, thirsty, and tired, if you must know," he dismissed. "I'm here to see your other patient." Severus glanced over at Harry and saw that both he and Hermione were awake and watching him curiously.

"Alright," Poppy agreed. "I still want an explanation on Mr. Potter's conspicuous appearance change."

"I'm sure you'll get one soon enough," Severus sighed. "In the meantime, if I could have some privacy?" Poppy nodded, and stepped away. Severus approached Harry's bed and Hermione began to make to leave.

"No, stay," Severus instructed, and Hermione paused. She vacated the seat next to Harry's bed and joined her friend instead. Neither looked especially comfortable.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Severus asked as he sat in the vacated seat. He rested his elbow on the armrest and his chin on his thumb, tapping his other fingers over his mouth thoughtfully.

"I'm fine, sir," Harry replied stiffly.

"Have you eaten lately?" Severus pressed.

"Yes, sir," Harry affirmed.

"Good. Been drinking?"

"Yes, sir. Hermione's been seeing to that."

"Miss Granger," Severus intoned sharply, his gaze never wavering from her eyes now, as his full attention shifted. "You seem to think it an appropriate thing to do to simply walk out of someone's life, and then reappear back in it later?"

"No, sir," Hermione replied defiantly.

"Are you aware of the damage you have caused?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione said again.

"I doubt that," Severus contradicted.

"I've apologized, sir, and I didn't expect Harry to forgive me, even though I hoped he would," Hermione explained, a bit loftily. She cast a warm smile at Harry, who returned it. "Sir, Harry has something important to tell you. You should know as soon as possible." Severus narrowed his eyes at Hermione, suspicious that she was simply diverting an uncomfortable conversation, but when Harry cleared his throat, Severus turned his gaze.

"Sir," Harry began nervously. "Ron's gone missing."

"Alright," Severus replied. "I believe this is no concern of yours."

"Well, sort of," Harry continued, beginning to play with his hands as he stumbled to find the right words. "Ron - he borrowed a time turner - "

"Shit," Severus swore. "What happened?"

"Ron went back in time," Hermione suddenly cut in, "and has been trying to change time ever since. Ron Weasley and Albus Dumbledore are one and the same!" Severus was silent for several minutes as he weighed the information carefully.

"And why do you believe that?" Severus finally asked.

"He told us," Harry said. "He know things only Ron would know." Severus nodded.

"I see," he finally said. "I would advise you to be very cautious about everything you do. Turning time that far is an exceedingly dangerous and wholly unwise thing to do. The longer that Mr. Weasley is out of sync with where he should have been, the more unhinged he will seem to be, and the more psychotic his actions will become. If he knows that you know his true identity, he may go as far as to try to kill either one or both of you."

"Yes, sir," Harry acknowledged. "I had already thought of that."

"You have a house elf here, don't you?" Severus asked abruptly.

"Dobby?" Harry replied.

"Yes, the former Malfoy elf," Severus confirmed. "Is he employed by Hogwarts, or simply staying here?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.

"If he is employed by Hogwarts, he will be accountable to Dumbledore," Severus clarified.

"Dobby is a free house elf," Harry and Hermione intoned together.

"Only take food from him, then," Severus instructed. "He will make sure the food is safe, and present it to you as such. The other house elves, while I'm sure intending you no harm, must take their orders from the headmaster. It would seem that Hogwarts is no longer a safe place for any of us."

"Sir?" Hermione asked.

"Yes?"

"Ron is only angry with Harry," Hermione clarified. "He seems to think that he's championed a way for me to do great things or something. I don't think he would do anything to me."

"That is a distinct possibility," Severus admitted. "And since you are not in my house, nor - " Severus' eyes darted quickly to Harry.

"Harry's told me, sir," Hermione cut in when Severus paused.

" - nor are you my child, I cannot order you to act in any special way outside of the school rules. Do as you will. Take my instructions to Harry into mind."

"Yes, sir," Hermione said.

"In the meantime," Severus sighed, getting up, "I need to reconnect with some old friends."