Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Harry Potter belong to their respective authors/owners.


A/N: The follow-up to the previous one-shot Unicorn and answers to some responses will be at the end.


Remember the Unicorns

Severus couldn't help but frown because somehow that was the correct answer and yet it sounded false.


.oO0Oo.

Many years later Severus Snape lay dying on the ground, in the dirt and without anyone to witness his last breath. The man wasn't afraid of death, in fact, he welcomed it. He had spent years suffering physically, mentally and emotionally and now he could finally receive the much wanted end to it all. There were regrets but he acknowledged and accepted each one. Severus had even given the boy answers to his unspoken questions, answers in the form of memories.

"...memory."

"...remember..."

"I'm here..."

"...I'm here, Severus. Severus?" The gentle voice was soft and soothing. Something that felt so comforting, so familiar that he was sure he could put a name to it if only the fuzziness cleared. But maybe the fuzziness was part of dying, so maybe he wouldn't be able to recall the sensation. Maybe...

"Would you..." The voice paused with...hesitation? But why should the warmth feel hesitant? "Would you...like to recover a bit? Just to clear your mind before you make any further choices, Severus?" Severus, that was his name but he wasn't used to it sounding so...cared for, so sweet on her lips. Wait, her? Her lips?

There was a ghost of a memory of trembling lips trying their utmost best to smile, a smile that was as happy as it was sad. The strong emotions shone in her eyes as well. Blue eyes, he remembered, as clear as unicorns were pure. Unicorns? Yes, something about someone and their pink glow.

"Ka...go...me?" The answer came unbidden, croaking. He couldn't help but frown because somehow that was the correct answer and yet it sounded false.

"Kagome, yes, that's my name." Ah, now it sounded the way it should. Her name shouldn't be broken, shouldn't sound broken and she certainly shouldn't be. It should be cheerful, she should be smiling. Smiling...he wanted to see her smiling...but he couldn't see if his eyes were closed and so he struggled against the fuzziness and the weight and finally his eyelids slit open.

Pink. There was a pink glow. He couldn't see anything else through the small crack but right now he still couldn't push against the heavy weight. It was getting lighter though, as the warmth increased. Slowly, drumming life into him and whispering promises in a language that couldn't possibly be mortal.

"Kago...me," he tried again, a little more successful now that his lungs weren't burning from the chill of death.

"I'm here, Severus, I'm right beside you." Beside him? Then maybe, maybe he wouldn't die alone. He couldn't see her smiling but he could still thank her. Severus hadn't been able to push against the weight of his eyelids but somehow moving the muscles of his mouth came freely with hardly any effort. So Severus Snape smiled, finally at peace.

...

Kagome was unease with worry. Her anxiety wasn't related to her duty for once, it was in the form of a dying man. Not that he was dying anymore, because he wasn't, but that was exactly it. He wasn't dying because she hadn't wanted him to. She had healed him. She, the Guardian, had intervened to prevent a mortal man's death.

That definitely sounded like something that would be in the list of 'do-not's. She sighed, not that the miko even knew what the full list was. Kagome only knew that she had to keep away from any possibility of evil. She glanced down at his resting head on her lap and gently stroked his hair, but she didn't think or feel that this man was evil. He may have had a concentrated burn of hatred and anger before but at the moment of his supposed death, the miko had seen an unraveling snake dissolve into a cloud of darkness and then he was just Severus.

Kagome studied the Potion Master's face. He had aged, shackled down by responsibility that probably made him look older than he really was. Not that she even knew how years had passed, time became slippery when it came to the Guardian. Instead she smoothed the creases on his forehead and traced the curve of his faint, contented smile. Severus had accepted death with open arms. Kagome hoped that he wouldn't be angry at her for preventing his death. She just couldn't let him go, at least not without a proper good-bye.

...

When Severus woke, he didn't feel pain. That confused him. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be dead, which confused him more because he thought that people didn't wake again after they were dead.

Although awake, he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he didn't really want to. Not yet, he had to calm himself first. If he had departed, then he might see other dead people and he had to mentally prepare before the encounter. But when he felt fingers brush through his hair, his eyes flew open with names already out of his lips. There were only two people who had ever done that, two dead women. "Lily? Mother?"

Startled blue eyes stared back at him, before glancing away briefly, almost guilty. "No, I'm sorry."

"My mistake," Severus replied evenly. He had automatically looked down to hide his embarrassment and so caught sight of the unusual white and red robe. The Potions Master recognised that clothing. He quickly glanced back up at her face and was met with the same blue eyes. "Kagome."

She nodded with a delighted smile, "You remember."

"Pink...there was a pink glow?" He was still trying to recollect his last memory before falling unconscious.

"There was," she answered carefully.

Fuzziness, he had found recalling things difficult because of the fuzziness but still he had tried to open his eyes and... Kagome, she was there beside him. His thoughts remained a bit jumbled but Severus was certain that Kagome had been beside him before he completely lost consciousness.

He returned his focus to Kagome, who appeared rather nervous for some reason, "What happened?"

"I..." She bit her bottom lip, "I didn't want you to die, not yet, so I brought you back. I healed you so you're not dead and I'm sorry! Just wanted to see you, talk to you and, but, I interfered! I'm so sorry, Severus, I'm selfish but I'm sorry. Just didn't want you to die..." The explanation and apologises came out muddled and rushed as did her breaths. She was getting really worked up about this.

He sat up and since she continued rambling guiltily, he awkwardly pulled her into a hug which effectively cut her off, "Slow down, Kagome. I haven't blamed you so calm down. Now, tell me again?"

She sniffed and clutched at his front, "You...you were dying, Severus. I didn't want you to die so I healed you."

"So I'm not dead thanks to you," he summarised.

"I'm sorry, Severus! I'm sorry for being selfish..."

He interrupted before she could relapse into her previous state, "Would you explain why you're sorry for saving my life?"

So she did. After being isolated from people for so long and ridden with guilt, Kagome just let everything out. She explained how he had accepted death and how she thought that maybe he would've preferred to die and she hadn't given him a choice in the matter. With his death, Severus wouldn't have to suffer anymore and he'd be able to meet the two important women whose names he had called out. So when she had healed him, she had stripped him of that chance to die naturally and any previous responsibilities might regain a hold of him again. The final blow, however, was that Kagome was the Shikon Guardian and shouldn't be interfering with outside life because it could possibly taint and trigger the solid existence of the magical jewel.

Throughout it all, Severus quietly listened with surprising calm and then he shared a bit of his own past responsibility.

"I don't blame you, Kagome. I...I didn't think I'd ever see you again and after everything, I'm glad for this chance," he reassured her. He really had wanted to see her again but had expected that opportunity to be in the afterlife. The man hoped that his tone was gentle enough and that she realised his sincerity, Severus didn't like watching Kagome being so distressed.

The miko searched his eyes desperately and once she was finally satisfied, she smiled. Her lips were quite red from her nervous biting and her eyes glossed with tears, though still displaying their brilliant blue. At that moment, Severus Snape could've died happy.

...

Kagome had moved his body to a safe, discreet location. She called it her time bubble. It wasn't so much as a place but a plane of time, a different opening where the Shikon Guardian was allowed a few moments off-guard to relax. The time spent inside wouldn't count towards ridding the magical bauble though and since Kagome hadn't like the idea of stretching out her isolation, she very rarely used it. The plane was impossible to enter unless, as she had found out, something or someone was in physical contact with her. Once entered, her time would no longer be in sync with the outside. She hadn't worked out a formula to calculate the time difference (not that there were many occasions to collect data) and honestly didn't think there was one, the time wasn't structured or even and she wouldn't know how many minutes, days or years had passed on the outside until she was there. The time inside could be shorter or longer than on the outside.

"So what happens now?" He thought to ask. Severus sat on the ground against an enormous tree trunk with his arms around Kagome. He didn't notice the state of his robes and wouldn't have cared even if he had.

"Whatever you want, you're free now," she smiled softly at him.

"And you?"

Kagome sighed, "Still a few more years."

"I'm guessing you weren't given an exact number," he tightened his hold on her and continued, "Then I'll wait with you."

There was the pause, the expected silence and Severus had been ready to confirm his answer, his absolute resolve, but it seemed that Kagome had already trusted him.

"Thank you."

...

Many years later, at least to Severus and Kagome, they re-emerged into civilisation with no fate-of-the-world baggage. There was no rush to figure out the date, it wasn't important but a nearby discarded newspaper lay beckoning at their feet. Severus picked it up, unfamiliar with the newspaper name but wasn't completely ignorant of some of its content. Advertisements were moving and waving to attract his attention but the man paid them no heed. He had randomly flipped to a page and read the first thing in front of his eyes.

"Oh, anything interesting, Severus?" Kagome asked from behind.

His reply came out in disbelief, "My name..."

"Err, yes?"

"They used my name."

"I'm not following you...hey, let me see what you're reading." Kagome easily pried the magical newspaper from his hands and skimmed the large article until her eyes found the answer.

Albus Severus Potter

0o.o0


A/N: Almost seemed like I wouldn't be able to finish any other one-shot for this pairing until I completed this.

Sorry to critical eyes, didn't end up making Severus a father or father-to-be. Perhaps in a different one-shot.

To the anonymous 2lazy2login, here's the sequel although it almost stayed in death..

.

The style of writing is a bit different at the beginning (my opinion), which I thought should apply since the moment was centered around death and so should have a slightly distinct feel about it. I like the change but I'd also like to hear your opinion on it.

Couple of points:

- I didn't explicitly state that Severus and Kagome were a couple in the previous one-shot and so I kept that ambiguity here as well.

- Severus's supposed 'death' and Kagome's healing purified the Dark Mark.

- Severus Snape's role in Harry Potter's journey to fulfill the prophecy is over and without the Dark Mark, he's free.

- As Kagome believed, Severus isn't tainted and since he has no 'evil' desires/wishes, they can stay together to wait for the non-existence of the jewel. Also helped that since the miko healed him and will be around him quite often, there will be a lingering effect.

- Kagome can enter the time bubble at will but it won't count towards her quota while her earlier vacation (in previous one-shot) does. Consider the time bubble is like taking time-off for a holiday and not getting paid, whereas the 'vacation' is like sick leave and you do get paid.

- Lastly, Severus hasn't read much further than 'Albus Severus Potter', so he doesn't know any other details.

.

Hope that helps and thank you very much for your support. Suggestions for more one-shots of this or any other pairing is greatly welcomed.

If you don't mind, please vote in the poll on my profile page.

Airily