A/N. I had an itch that needed to be scratched, so I wrote this chapter. I had the idea when I watched the Deathly Hallows last time. The scene where Severus Snape discovers dead Lily Potter. I don't know if I ever will continue the story, because I don't have time to write fanfiction. Still… if someone would want to continue it, consider it a CHALLENGE to continue it. I'd love to read it, assuming it won't be Tom/Lily, Draco/Lily, Lily/Severus or harem. A lesbian pairing would be the best!

Warnings: male to female Harry.

Desperate Measures

Prologue

Severus Snape was walking through the house, which had been home to the Potters. Despite everything, he hoped that Lily was somehow alive, that the Dark Lord had spared her life. He couldn't accept the fact that she was dead, or worse, that he was the case of her death. If he hadn't told the Dark Lord about the Prophecy nothing would have happened. If only he had learned earlier that the Dark Lord knew where the Potters were hiding…

He ignored the little boy who was crying. To tell truth he didn't even notice the boy, because all he could see was the woman lying dead on the floor. Lily was dead. The only human except his mother he had ever cared was dead. The woman he had always loved was dead. He was dead without her. This world was dead without her.

The moment when Severus hugged Lily's dead body his world shattered, but it was the moment an idea took root in his mind. He had to revive her! He had to bring her back. What was his knowledge good for if it couldn't bring the woman he loved back? What good was being a genius if he couldn't do that? What was magic good for if it took her life? He had to find a way!

He took a deep breath as he realized that there was in fact a way to bring Lily back. He knew that her soul had left this world, but her memories were still intact. He had about eleven hours, before it would be too late. She wouldn't be the same Lily, but still… He looked at the boy, then at Lily. It was a horrible thing to do. If anyone learned about it, he would be sent to Azkaban. Alas, he could only think about reviving Lily.

Severus stunned the boy and disapparated taking both Lily's body and the boy with him. He needed a very special potion, which would take some time to brew. The time Lily's body didn't have. However, he didn't need her body. Some flesh, a hair and her memories. Severus took some of her beautiful hair and pointed a wand at her right hand. He hesitated. It was horrendous for him even to consider damaging her body in any way, but it had to be done. Not with a wand, however. Magic could interfere with the potion. He took a knife and sliced her right hand off. Both ingredients for the potion were carefully conserved.

The memories. It was almost impossible to read memories of those who died. Every person had a unique mind, a very special way to deal with memories. Without owner's consciousness to guide an intruder, it would take years to make some sense of memories. Severus didn't need to do that. He pointed his wand at the boy and spoke, "Obliviate Maxima", completely erasing the baby's mind. A child could do that much more efficiently. Lily's memories would become the baby's memories. Of course, it would take some time for the child to integrate her memories. Most likely, it would take years, but there was no need to rush.

It was impossible to transfer memories selectively. All or nothing. Severus didn't want her to remember about her relationship with Potter or having a child. Still, she would regain her memories in a reverse chronological order. All he needed to do was to check her memories from time to time and once he noticed any memories from her fourth year at Hogwarts he would erase her memories. This way she would only keep her memories until the moment, when he had made that mistake, which had ruined their friendship. There was no way he would repeat the mistake. He wouldn't ruin his second chance with Lily.

Finally, the transfer was completed and he looked at Lily's body with regret. He had to destroy it. He couldn't leave any evidences. Severus kissed her and took a deep breath. The more he waited the harder it would get to do it. He transfigured the body into a log and burned it to ashes in his fireplace.

While the Wizarding world was celebrating the sudden mysterious fall of the Dark Lord, Severus was preoccupied with brewing. It took him a month to brew the potion, which would turn the boy into Lily's clone. If the boy hadn't been her child, it wouldn't work. If the boy had been older than seventeen months, it wouldn't work. The boy was the only one who could be used for Severus' goals. He knew, however, that his Lily wouldn't look exactly like the original one. She would be taller or shorter. Her facial features wouldn't be the same. Different parents, food, environment. And still… she would be his Lily.

Severus would never learn that the potion affected a piece of the Dark Lord's soul, which was attached to the girl's forehead. It was an unintentionally created Horcrux and as such, it was unstable and didn't have years of time to bury itself into the child's skull. The changes caused by the potion which contained Lily's blood destroyed the piece of the Dark Lord's soul and some fragments of his knowledge siphoned into her mind. Fortunately, she didn't receive any vile memories or the Dark Lord's personality, which would poison her mind. Only few pieces of pure knowledge she wouldn't even be aware of for many years.

He spent six additional months crafting a fake identity for the little girl. He put her in stasis in order to move her birthday to August. He found her reclusive muggle parents, who had died recently and had had no relatives. He forged a birth certificate and made sure that no one would be able to claim that she weren't Lily Green, going as far as destroying bodies of her fake relatives. He had insured that even magical means wouldn't identify her as a Potter.

She was placed in a children's home, but was adopted by a young married couple Kathleen and Richard Evans a few months later. Not without Severus' help, who influenced them to choose Lily. The surname was common enough to find good parents for her. They had a three years old daughter Amber and after months of observations, Severus was sure that his Lily would have the best possible family. A few years later during one of his polyjuiced visits, he erased her memories, leaving her without recollection of anything beyond Lily's fourth year at Hogwarts. Severus ceased his visits after that.