Chapter Two;
So far things had been smooth, neither Remus nor Sirius had seen much of Severus – though they knew he wandered around the house. It had been three days and Remus had checked on Severus several times, only when he was asleep and Poppy had visited twice to do check-ups. Remus always sent Severus' food up to his room, thinking that Severus didn't wish to be bothered by neither of the two knowing their history. Meals were peaceful, and Sirius had even continued his daily routine of going shopping, relaxing in the study as he read, and taking walks with Remus. It was tolerable until one night at dinner, Remus and Sirius were discussing going to a Quidditch match and taking Harry for his birthday when they heard a crash in the living room.
Remus was the first one up, hurrying into the living room followed by Sirius to find Severus in a white shirt and black trousers, sitting on the ground, a rather large pile of books toppled atop him. Sirius growled and rolled his eyes, wondering how the hell Snivellus had been so careless. Remus swatted his stomach to keep him quiet before crossing the room and holding his hand out.
"Are you alright?" He asked, giving a warm smile.
Severus glanced up and flushed. "Oh, see, I uh, I grabbed one too many and then… I pulled one out and it pulled others out. I'm sorry. " He explained.
Remus quirked his eyebrow and glanced over at Sirius who wore a confused expression. Sirius' eyebrows rose. "He doesn't even look hurt, what is he recovering for?"
Severus pushed to sit on his knees, piling the books on top of one another. He glanced up at Sirius and frowned. "Oh, um, I'm not hurt, sir. I'm sorry."
Sirius growled. "Wh- wait…" He paused, blinking. "Did you just say sir? And apologize to me?"
"Severus, are you feeling well? Dizzy or anything?" Remus asked, a bit worried at how he was acting. Severus ignored it as if it wasn't even said as he gathered the books. "Severus?" Remus called, placing his hand on his shoulder.
Severus stared up with wide eyes. "Wh-what? Oh. Right. Severus… uh, no. I'm fine."
Remus frowned. "Severus, you're acting very strange… do you want me to help you up the stairs?"
"Do- do I have too?" Severus stammered.
Remus smiled. "No. You can go wherever you want too."
"May I stay here and read?" He asked, frowning. With Remus' nod, Severus pushed himself off the floor and took a seat in an armchair, opening the book and reading in silence.
Sirius pulled Remus back into the kitchen, now glad for the silencing charms that Molly had put up. "What the hell is wrong with him?"
Remus sighed. "I'm not sure, he's acting… quite odd."
"Odd? Understatement of the year, he called me sir, Moony!"
"Did you see how he stammered when I called him his first name?"
"As if he didn't even know it was his name? Yeah."
"I think we should firecall Albus."
"Agreed."
They both walked out of the kitchen and through the living room, merely giving side glances at Severus who was engulfed in his book. They walked down the hall together and stepped into the study, Remus pulling his wand out the moment the door was closed to light up the fire. They both crossed the room and leaned down next to the fire, setting it up to fire-call Albus. When his head appeared, he smiled at them.
"Hello, Sirius, Remus, how are you both today?" He asked.
"Fine, thank you. How are you?" Remus asked, smiling.
"I'm fin—" Albus began.
"Okay, cut the formalities. What's up with Snape?" Sirius impatiently said.
"What do you me—"
"Albus…" Sirius growled.
Albus sighed. "He's… lost his memory of sorts."
"Lost his memory?" Remus repeated.
"You must understand… what they did to him… from the evidence we have it's worse than the Longbottom's. Severus has used his Occlumency to his advantage and in sorts… shut his mind off." Albus explained.
"Shut his mind off?" Sirius asked, frowning.
"Yes. He's hid his memories away, so that they could not be used against him, such as Order meetings and discussions with me. They tortured him physically until he was not able to keep his shields up, and then began to torture him mentally." Albus said.
"Can… will he get his memories back?" Remus asked.
"We are not exactly sure… Poppy said sometimes children act distant until they feel safe, so possibly when he feels safe he will feel as though he can show his real self again." Albus frowned.
"And if he never feels safe? Or if he does feel safe and he just doesn't get his memories back?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms.
"Then he starts his life over… just as others have with memory loss."
Remus and Sirius both sighed, sitting in silence and neither knowing what to say. Albus cleared his throat and his eyes diverted to the floor. "That is not all, my boys."
"There's more?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Well… they've casted a curse on him…" Albus said, letting out a sigh. "He can't use magic."
Remus blinked. "He is a squib?"
"No… in Squibs, magic is merely dormant, and if they have children, those children will have magic or have a high possibility of having magic. Severus… we've ran many tests, and we can't find his magic core." Albus explained.
"He's a muggle…" Sirius whispered.
"I've been reading many tomes and books to find something to reverse the curse, as have the rest of the staff. We have not found anything as of yet." Albus said.
"I'll search around the library here, Albus." Remus offered with a smile.
"Thank you, Remus that would be appreciated." Albus smiled.
"Wait, so… what exactly does he know?" Sirius asked.
"He knows he was a Wizard, that magic is real so he won't be weirded out if you use it in front of him, however he might be a bit amazed. He was when I used Lumos in the infirmary. Ah, he knows his name is Severus but give him some time to get used to it. Everything else is just minor details of his likes, such as Ice Mice, reading, brewing, and etcetera." Albus explained. "This brings me to my next request, I know you two have done a lot by taking him in, but you must see if anyone from the Ministry found out, he would be shipped off to St. Mungo's."
"Of course, Albus, now the request?" Remus asked.
"I—merely be nice to him, don't speak to him about the past, he must remember everything on his own. Engage him in conversations some, he seems a bit shy." Albus said, smiling. "Will you both do that for me?"
Sirius opened his mouth but was hit in the stomach by Remus. "Of course we will, Albus." Remus said, smiling.
"Thank you both. Please don't fret to owl or fire-call if you need anything." Albus said before his head disappeared in the fire.