Disclaimer: Except for some OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

Two days after Severus first woke, a pair of wizards walked into St. Mungo's and asked the information desk how to find one of the Healers there. The volunteer working at the desk was star struck by the younger man and blown over by the charm of the elder. She had been given strict instructions not to divulge the location of this Healer. She was helpless in the face of such flirtatious charm and gave the information requested, anyway. The two made their way to the Maternity ward as the volunteer picked up a circular to fan herself.

The wizards stood in the doorway unnoticed and watched the couple sitting together on the bed. The wizard was wearing a finely made nightshirt that was definitely not hospital issue, and the witch was dressed in Healer's robes. They were cuddled together like lovers, whispering to each other and kissing. The wizard tried to trail kisses down the neckline of the witch's robe, but she protested.

“Severus, stop! We're on each other's 'don't' lists for several weeks, yet.”

“I think you're just trying to torture me,” was the response as he slid a hand around her back and tried to pull her closer. She giggled with laughter.

The elder wizard standing by the door cleared his throat. “I saw about as much of this as I liked at your wedding and then at Order meetings, you know.”

The two on the bed looked up at the amused face of Sirius Black and the agape face of Harry Potter. Emily got off the bed, straightened her robe, and smoothed the bedclothes over her husband. “Mr. Potter! I assume you're here for our long-standing appointment.” Before the boy could answer, a cry issued from the bassinet. “Ah, I'm sorry, I have a previous engagement for just a few minutes. Severus, you'll entertain our guests while I attend to the baby, won't you?” Emily took the baby and moved to the curtained area where she was supposedly the patient.

Sirius walked into the room and sat in a chair near Severus. He looked more like his youthful self than at any time since being sentenced to Azkaban. “Snape.”

“Black.” They sized each other up. For the moment, they chose to leave it at that. The man sitting on the bed looked toward his other guest.

“Well, Potter, are you going to join us, or have you taken up a calling as fly-catcher? Shut your mouth and come sit down.”

“Oh, yes, sir. I'm sorry—I didn't expect to see—“

“The loyal servant of your mother behaving so uxoriously?”

“I thought, well, I had the impression, from your memories...” Harry put a flask of silvery gray strands on a table and finally sat down.

Sirius sighed. “Your memories were quite convincing, Snape. If I hadn't seen you two together all these years and if I didn't believe Emily...” He shrugged and let it go.

“Hope, are you still over there?” Snape's daughter came around the curtain and moved toward the bed.

“Is there something you wanted, Daddy?”

“I want you to sit right here by me. I don't want to have to tell this story more than once.”

“Yes, Daddy.” She pulled a chair close to her father's bed and he took her hand within his.

“The simple truth, Potter, is that the memories I gave to you did not tell everything.”

“But the Patronus...”

"Expecto Patronem!” A silvery tiger sprung from his wand and prowled the room before wandering out the door and down the hall..

“But if that's your Patronus—”

“I have one perfect memory involving your mother, Potter. I was dancing with her at a wedding. For once in our friendship, she wasn't nagging me, or complaining about my friends. She was complimenting me upon the day, on my appearance... and upon my bride. I remembered that moment whenever I cast the doe Patronus.

“It wouldn't work today. As Lily and I danced, I caught a glimpse of your godfather, here, dancing with my wife and admiring her. It should have been an irritation, but I knew nothing could come of it. Since he's standing here, my memory would concentrate on recalling which wizard had the honeymoon with Emily.” He looked toward the curtain and smiled. “Since any duty I had to your parents is now completed, I doubt I will ever cast the doe Patronus again.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Severus pondered how to properly explain it all.

“When I was young, I thought Lily Evans was everything a girl, and later a woman, should be. Emily Smith used to twit me about the goddess who lived only in my mind, and she was right. A mere mortal couldn't love Lily. He must obey her... or suffer the consequences. I obeyed to the extent I could, but it was never good enough, so I suffered.” He sighed.

“Yet I loved her anyway, Potter. Emily Smith stood by me and in seventh year made the dare that kept me from becoming a Death Eater. As long as she held her end I must hold mine. So we finished seventh year, both of us wanting the other to keep their side of the bargain, because neither really wanted to succumb to our other choices.

Snape looked again at his daughter, and her face showed that she already knew this story. “A night came when, in order to preserve my dignity, and in order to keep me from doing something rash, Emily told me your parents would be married the next day. She held me in her arms and comforted me. I should be ashamed, but I took advantage of her comfort that night and all the next day.” He motioned toward his water glass and Hope handed it to him. He took a sip and returned the glass.

“I was deeply involved by the end of that day, but I could not admit it to myself. I told myself I wouldn't trespass upon Emily's hospitality any longer, and that this was just a momentary lapse in what I felt for your mother. I left, determined to forget the entire experience.

“I failed completely. Within three weeks I was completely miserable, and I determined that we should Obliviate ourselves. She heard me out, and told me that it was fine if I chose to do that, but she could not. She then told me about the child we had conceived.” The two visitors looked at Hope, but she and her father were looking at each other. Severus's voice softened. “Out of the disaster that was my life, Emily gave me this precious gift. We married a week later. For most of the next year the woman who loved me watched as I gave my affections to another man's wife. Months later she protected my dignity by finding a private time to tell me that the one I loved was pregnant. She then comforted me, as only she can.

“It was during that time that I first met the Dark Lord face to face. He learned the nature of the Vow Emily and I had made and agreed I could not be a Death Eater. He read me completely and saw that I was very much enamored with your mother, and yet, even he doubted my feelings there. He sent me away with the warning that when next we met I would become his servant.

“As her time approached, Emily started to suffer from the stress of her pregnancy becoming difficult. It was made worse by the stress of having a husband who didn't appreciate her. She had terrible headaches and other symptoms that she hid from me. One day it overcame her and she was brought here. I was was forced to face what my neglect had done. Our mothers stood vigil over her, trying to redeem my error, and it was all I could do to kiss her and leave the room to collect myself.

“Lily happened by and commented on some exchange of words the two had earlier in the day. Suddenly, Potter, I saw your mother as she was. Lovely and good, but she had a sharp tongue and was quite critical of anyone who didn't measure up to her standards... not unlike Petunia actually.”

Sirius chuckled. “Yes, she could be like that.”

“For once I was able to tell Lily what I really thought and I went back into the room that contained my whole world. I took my wife into my arms and told her I loved her. From that moment her condition improved and our Hope came to us at dawn.

“My admiration for your mother found its proper place in my heart after that, Potter. The only friend of my early childhood, absolutely, and a beautiful example of womanhood, definitely. She was no longer a goddess, and never again the dearest creature in my world.

“To finish the story, Potter, I ended up the servant of both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, although it was for Dumbledore that I truly worked. He told me to give what I knew of the prophecy to the Dark Lord, hoping it would protect the seer whom I now know was Sibyll Trelawney and prevent him from learning the full prophecy.

“When the Dark Lord learned of your birth and decided to destroy your family, he read my thoughts again. He found my horror, interpreting it as a desire that he save your mother. He chose to allow her to live as a reward to me. He had reasons for thinking that would work well with his other plans. You know what happened. Your mother made a choice of her own and the true nature of the prophecy was set in motion.

“Potter, I regret telling about the prophecy as much as anything I've ever done, just as much as I regret the events on the Astronomy Tower a year ago. I never would have done either without Dumbledore's insistence. I could never have recovered from either event, nor several others in the intervening years, without the love and comfort my wife and I share.”

Emily walked in during the pause that came, her face very pink. She handed the baby to Severus. “I think he wants someone to talk to him for a while, and I should examine Mr. Potter so that he's not waiting around here all day.”

“Don't be too long,” said her husband.

“Not at all,” she answered.

He pulled her down and kissed her, in front of all in the room. When he released her, the blush on her cheeks was closer to red. She cast her eyes to the floor, but all could see the smile on her lips. “Come along, Mr. Potter. I'm sure you want to get this over with.” With that she swept the young man out of the room and down the hallway.

“So what is the memory that you use for your usual Patronus?” asked Sirius.

“It would be ungentlemanly to describe it,” responded Severus. “I showed the old voyeur, but I'm not going to tell you... especially not you.” He glared at the other wizard.

“About that,” said Sirius, “you should know that I'm not interested anymore. Well, I'll always be interested, but not in the same way at all. Your wife set me up, you know, back when I was lying helpless on the fourth floor. I've fallen in love, real love, with a wonderful woman who appreciates my wilder side. Her name is Alison and she's one of the volunteers here. We will be married as soon as I formally get my name cleared with the Ministry.”

“I should congratulate you, but perhaps I should congratulate myself. It will be a pleasure not to have you sniffing around my wife at every turn, Padfoot.”

Black had the sense to look embarrassed. “There were times I truly didn't think you were looking out for her. I should have realized that you were keeping better tabs on things than that. How did you keep her out of Voldemort's clutches?”

“The first time, she was pregnant and he didn't want to do anything that might harm a future Death Eater. When he returned, he was physically unable to carry out that particular plan, although not many knew about it. He intended to kill Potter and then there was a spell that he thought would return him to full humanity. I made plans to get Emily and the children out of the country and well hidden if that ever happened.”

“You thought of everything.”

“I had to think of everything. I couldn't afford the sort of disasters you blundered into. The cost to my loved ones was too great.”

Sirius was left to think about that as his host started talking quietly to the newborn. The daughter requested and received permission to leave and study. No mention had been made of N.E.W.T. testing, but the girl wanted to be ready when the exams were given. After she left, it was quiet for several minutes.

“The thing is, Snape, I owe you an apology, a great many apologies, actually.”

The wizard on the bed turned from looking lovingly at his son to looking impassively at the wizard sitting in the chair. “Indeed?”

“Years ago I did something that could have gotten you killed, and I've spent the rest of our acquaintance baiting you and indulging in endless conflicts with you. I'm not sure we could ever have been friends, but we might have worked more peacefully and to better effect if I had been less of a jerk.”

“That's quite noble of you, Black. I admit that there were times I might have acted differently, too.”

“Can we bury the hatchet for real, this time, as Dumbledore wanted us to do a few years ago?”

Severus held out his hand and they shook, warily. Then he had a question of his own. “I wonder... since you were there, could you tell me what the battle at the school was really like?”

---

“All right, Mr. Potter, let's get started. How did you know to come?”

“Dumbledore's portrait. This morning he said that you would be expecting me now that it was all over. Sirius said he wanted to see you, too.”

“I don't suppose you remember the last time you had a full check up.”

“Well, Madam Pomfrey looks me over whenever I have to go to the Hospital Wing.”

“Poppy does look the students over pretty carefully, but she probably hasn't done a full evaluation.” Emily handed the young man a gown and left the room for a few minutes. When she returned, he was sitting on the table, looking a bit dejected by his state of dress. The Healer smiled kindly at the boy and began her exam.

“Did you know my Mum?”

“Not as well as my husband knew her, of course, but we were students together at Hogwarts, and we both studied with Severus, of course. Then we were both trainees together here. Your mum examined me and confirmed that I was pregnant with my daughter.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, and I returned the favor when she discovered she was pregnant with you. In fact, she asked me to act as midwife when you were born.”

“You were there when I was born?”

Emily smiled fondly at the memory. “You never saw such an event. I banished the others out to the waiting room, so that your mum could have some peace and quiet. Your dad was quite enough excitement for one small birthing room. Once I got James under control, Lily did beautifully. I bathed you and wrapped you up and then gave you to your father. He brought you over to your mother and the three of you became a family. The assistant and I left the room to give you some privacy and then those overgrown boys mobbed me. They were all so delighted...”

Emily came back to herself, and healed some cuts and bruises she found. “You were living on the run for a long time, and you haven't caught back up with your diet yet.”

“No, ma'am.”

“Are you getting enough to eat right now?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Very good. I'm going to do something now that may hurt.” Emily started probing the scar on Harry's forehead, looking into his face to see if there was a reaction. When there was none, she asked, “Have you noticed a change in the way your scar feels?”

“It doesn't hurt at all, even the dull ache it once had.”

“I looked at it once before, and realized it wouldn't properly heal as it was. Now it seems that it will. The magic that made it is now gone. If you like, I have a cream that will remove it entirely.”

Harry thought for a minute or two. “I don't think so. It's part of who I am, and part of what people expect from me, isn't it?”

Healer Snape smiled. “That's just what your parents would say. You can change your mind later if you like.”

Harry smiled back and realized something she said. “You've looked at my scar before?”

“Dumbledore had Hagrid bring you to me the day after you received it. That was when he arranged for me to look you over again in the event that it was all over. I think that Dumbledore has known your scar was a Horcrux from the very beginning.”

“So he always wanted me to go out and let Voldemort kill me?”

“Actually, from the reading I've been doing, I think Dumbledore always hoped that when Voldemort hit the Horcrux with fatal power it would break the Horcrux, just as actually happened.”

“What happened after you examined me?”

“I wrapped you back up and sent you on your way with Hagrid. That was my part to play.”

“That was it?”

“Actually, before I gave you back to Hagrid, I did this.” Emily stood the boy up and took him into her arms, crooning words of comfort up into his ear, and rubbing his back. For Harry it was the echo of a long lost memory, and he allowed the tears he had saved up for so many months to come up and flow. When he was done, he felt refreshed.

“How did you know to do that?”

Healer Snape smiled kindly. “Your mother and I were young mothers together, along with being trainees. She and your father had to go into hiding not long after you were born, but we had a chance to do a few things together.”

The Healer asked some rather embarrassing questions next. She finally declared him perfectly fit for a young man his age, except that he could stand to eat a bit more. She let him get dressed and then walked him back to his godfather. “Mrs—Healer Snape? Do you want me to tell people the truth about Professor Snape?”

“Thank you for offering, but I don't think that will be necessary unless you are asked a specific question. The less it's brought up, the better.”

“But people will think—”

“People think all sorts of things all the time. Surely you've experienced that by now. Those who see how my husband and I are together may form their own opinions, and that's where we shall have to leave it.”