This story was meant for Kardasi's Zodiac challenge. Unfortunately, my muses took a holiday and then RL hit me pretty bad. Now I have sorted out some stuff and my muses are back. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. No money made, no harm intended. I do this just for fun. I will return them unharmed, cleaned and fed.

A big THANK YOU to my betas Cassandra Pierson and Allzugern

AN: While reading this, remember that some things might not be quite as they seem. You might be surprised...

Prologue

Harry fell to his knees, totally exhausted. Blood was dripping from a deep cut in his left arm, which had gone numb hours ago. In his right hand he still had his wand in a vice-like grip, his mind not really realizing what just had happened. He had done it. He had defeated Voldemort. The dark Lord was gone for good, his soul shattered, his body reduced to ashes. It was over.

The 'Boy-who-lived' watched as everything around him seemed to turn into slow motion. Death Eaters firing curses at the Aurors while trying to escape now that their Lord was gone. Harry could not hear the sound of the curses being yelled or the screams of the wounded and dying. He could not hear the cheers from those who had witnessed Voldemort's death, everything around him was so surreal at once. His sight grew dim as he suddenly felt the throbbing pain from the wound in his left arm and it was only then he realized that he must have some broken or bruised ribs as well, because breathing was now a hard thing to do. A wave of nausea hit him followed by dizziness and his wand fell from his powerless fingers as his world turned dark.

Chapter 1: Disappearing

There was noise everywhere, screaming, sobbing, people running around. Harry opened his eyes carefully, taking in his surroundings. He was in the infirmary, which seemed to be extremely crowded. In an instant Poppy was at his side, smiling down at him a bit. "Harry, dear, you are awake. How are you feeling?" Before he could answer, the medi – witch pointed her wand at him and did a quick scan. Harry watched her and thought she looked like hell. Her face was pale, her hair a mess and her robes were stained with blood and dirt. He had no idea what time it was or how long he had been unconscious, but it seemed to have been quite some time.

"What happened?" The young wizard asked, he couldn't remember anything that had happened after he had defeated Voldemort. He needed to know if his friends were still alive – Hermione, Ron, Severus - if they'd only made it.

"You were found on the battlefield, unconscious, and brought here." Poppy started. "You had lost a good deal of blood. You have two broken ribs which have pierced some of your inner organs, including your lung. I cast a spell on you that took care of your inner injuries by stimulating your cells to speed up the healing process or even replace the organs which could not be repaired. The process should be completed by tomorrow morning. Don't worry, you were only unconscious for a little more than 30 minutes and both Ron and Hermione are alive. I have to leave now, call if you are in pain or need anything else." She was about to turn and walk away, when Harry stopped her.

"Wait! Please, I need to know if Severus is alright. Please tell me he is okay." Harry almost begged. He felt so close to him after the events of the last night, finally ready to admit to himself that he loved his former Potions Master deeply.

At hearing Professor Snape's name a shadow rushed over the medi-witch's face. Harry's heart sank. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. "Tell me!" he demanded. He tried to sit up, but the pain that shot through him made him think that it was not a really good idea.

Poppy came back to his bedside telling him not to move, before she said, "Professor Snape has been kidnapped by Lucius Malfoy, but…" She held Harry down in bed when he again tried to raise and say something. "...the Aurors took his wand before he managed to escape. The Ministry sent the best Aurors right after them, I am sure they will soon bring the Professor back unharmed. Now rest, I will come back later and bring you a dreamless sleep potion." With that she turned and hurried away to take care of the numerous other patients.

ooOoo

Harry woke the next morning, in an almost silent infirmary. Poppy had been true to her word and had forced him to take some dreamless sleep, though he had not wanted to. He had wanted to stay awake and wait for news about Severus, but in the end he had to give in. Now he was awake and he wanted answers.

When the medi-witch realized Harry was awake she left the infirmary, only to come back with the Headmaster a few minutes later. Harry tried to stay calm. This has nothing to do with Severus, this is only because I defeated Voldemort… he tried to calm himself.

Albus took a seat at Harry's bedside while Poppy closed the white curtain around the bed and put up a silencing charm. Harry's heart began to pound rapidly, he felt that this was going to be bad news. The Headmaster looked old and defeated, the blue eyes behind the half-moon glasses held no twinkle, but looked at him almost apologetically.

"Harry, my boy, how are you feeling?" the old wizard asked.

"I will be fine as soon as you tell me that Severus is alright." The young, green eyed wizard choked out.

"I can't, Harry, I am so sorry." Dumbledore said, his voice heavy with emotion.

"What happened? Where is he?" Harry whispered, his throat tight and burning from unshed tears, his vision blurry and his eyes stinging.

"The Aurors found Lucius in a Muggle hotel outside of London. Severus was not there, but Malfoy was soaked with his blood. He would not tell where he was or what he did to him first, but after the use of Veritaserum Lucius stated that he had killed him by repeatedly hitting his head with a Muggle item. Something Arthur called a baseball bat. He said he then had thrown him into one of the huge trash containers behind the hotel. We could not find his body because they already had taken the trash away. I am so sorry, my boy. I know you were friends and he was like a son to me." Albus was crying silently.

Harry felt like a cold hand was gripping his heart and squeezing it. His chest burned, his throat hurt and he shook his head violently in denying. "No, he can't be dead. He can't be. Not now that Voldemort is gone and he is free. This is a mistake. He can't be dead. He can't be…he can't be" the young wizard sobbed rocking himself back and forth in his bed. Finally he began repeating in an unnatural high voice, "This is a dream, nothing but a bad dream. One of my nightmares, I have many of them, … nightmares …" He was definitely sounding like he was close to hysterics.

Albus got up quickly and fetched Madam Pomfrey, who brought a calming potion with her. She forced it down the struggling wizard's throat and waited a few seconds for it to work, before she sent Albus away. She had to check on Harry's condition, both his physical and mental one.

Harry had calmed down noticeably, now only sobbing once in a while, but still tears kept running down his cheeks. He did not protest when the medi-witch began to cast a complicated and thorough diagnostic spell on him. It didn't matter to him any more if he died. He had lost the one person he had loved most in his whole life. Not even the death of his godfather had been that painful. They could let him die now, he had fulfilled the Prophecy and had killed Voldemort, nothing more to live for…

He was pulled out of his dark thoughts by a sharp intake of breath. Poppy stared at him in pure disbelief. What have I done, now? Harry thought slightly annoyed. He wanted to be left alone with his grief, preferably away from the infirmary.

"Harry, I …I have to ask you a question. I know this is … erm… an unusual question, but I need to know. Harry, did you sleep with someone the night before the battle?" the medi-witch stuttered.

The green eyed wizard blinked a few times surprised by this intimate question, but then nodded unable to speak, while memories of his night with Severus came back to him. How loving and passionate the other man had been, how tender his kisses, how soft his skin. "Why do you ask?" Harry managed to ask the stunned looking witch.

"I think the spell I used to repair and regenerate your inner organs has gone awry. It must have sensed the foreign DNA and well, how should I say it…dealt with it in its own way. I have never seen anything like this before. Harry, you… you have … a womb… and you are … pregnant."

ooOoo

Fifteen minutes and a rather unusual discussion later, the news finally sank in. He was pregnant – with Severus' child. Which meant two things – part of the man he loved was still alive, and he would need to leave the wizarding world as soon as possible. Now he was not only the boy-who-lived or the wizard-who-had-defeated-the-Dark-Lord, no, he would be the only pregnant wizard in over a thousand years – if he remembered his history lessons correctly. Which also meant that someone would try to turn him into a lab-rat and his child would never have a normal life.

Harry made his decision quickly. He would leave today, disappear into the Muggle world and never look back. Surely, he would miss Ron and Hermione terribly, but they were engaged and still had each other. Maybe in a year or two, when the worst was over, he would contact them. He grabbed his wand from his bedside table and told the medi-witch, "I have to go Poppy. I will leave the wizarding world, but I will need your help with this. I will contact you and find a way to bring you to me, but for now, I am sorry I have to do this, 'Intercludo!'". Before the medi-witch could react, he had blocked her memories of the last twenty minutes. No-one would be able to remove this spell, but him.

Poppy blinked a few times in surprise before she said, "You are allowed to leave, Harry, but you should rest some more."

"Thank you, Poppy" the young wizard murmured and then added, "I want to be alone. I am going to my quarters and lay down a bit. If someone searches for me, tell them I need rest, please?"

"Of course, dear, I will do that. It is the truth after all." The medi-witch said, smiling sadly and rubbing the small of Harry's back in a comforting manner. He looked lost and alone, like a little kid, though he was already 20 years old. How many times had he left like this since he was first brought to the infirmary, a burdened eleven year old? Way too many times. She could only hope things would change now.

Harry did not look back, when he left the hospital wing in the knowledge that he might never come back.

ooOoo

Like it? Hate it? Please let me know!

PS: Since RL is much better now, Hangover 14 will be coming soon...