Disclaimer: JKR's world. I just added a few OCs.
The next morning, Severus woke to the sound of his wife in the nursery. He dressed and poked his head in the other room, seeing that Barbara had everything under control. He had time to work in his office.
As he went through the sitting room, he stopped by the fireplace and looked at the framed document over the mantelpiece. It was covered in gilt and written in Latin. He mentally translated it and looked at the signatures at the bottom, finally realizing it was their marriage license. The official proof of his life over the last year was right here.
He looked at his own signature. He couldn't remember signing that parchment, but from seeing his own signature on hundreds of documents he could guess the pride of that moment, along with perhaps a little impatience that this small task was keeping him from being alone with his wife. He looked as well at Barbara's signature. It was a bit uneven, as if she had looked up while signing, perhaps to look into his eyes or smile at something he had whispered into her ear.
Shaking his head, he moved into his office and sat at his desk. He had caught up, finally, to the research they were doing that week, but could not account for a blank section he had left in the middle of one page that corresponded to several days before he lost his memory. He took his quill and tried to mark that space out, but the ink dribbled across the page and onto his desk. He absentmindedly cleared the mess.
There was a charm he used as a student, when he wrote little messages to himself, or notes to Lily that he knew he would never show her. He tapped the block of parchment with his wand and was not entirely surprised to see his own writing appear. He was surprised by what the writing told him.
After finishing with the babies, Barbara marshaled the teens into working on the garden, leaving the twins in the nursery with Itsy. Severus was working in his office and she decided not to bother him. Within an hour, they were all over the yard and she was by herself in the back. When a tall shadow appeared over her, she smiled and looked up only to realize that she was looking at Lucius Malfoy.
"Ah, Professor Merrill, what a charming smile!. We meet again."
Barbara's forehead puckered. "I didn't think it would be you. Did my husband invite you? I believe he's in his office..."
"How unfortunate that the warm welcome was not for me. I am, after all, here to see you."
"I cannot imagine why."
"No? I've heard the most delicious rumor, Barbara—I trust I may call you Barbara—that Professor Snape and Professor Merrill no longer share quarters."
"It is most definitely not accurate, Mr. Malfoy, and I cannot see how that is of any interest to you." His wand was lazily twirling in his hands, but Barbara's was in her pocket. If she reached for it, he could hex her long before she could pull it out. Barbara backed her way toward the house. Malfoy matched her step for step, staying entirely too close.
"Ah, well, I'm here to offer my services as a protector of sorts."
"I don't think I need that sort of protection."
"Oh, but you do. However, if you don't want it, well, then, perhaps we can just share a moment or two, if you know what I mean?"
"I don't share things like that." If she could just get to the French doors of Severus' office, she would be safe. Severus would make him go away.
"She plays hard to get. Don't worry, my dear, I will catch you and then we will enjoy ourselves."
"I really am not interested, Mr. Malfoy."
"I will have to provide enough interest for us both, then."
She reached the doors and they opened for her. She stepped into the room, Malfoy still crowding her until she backed right into the arms of her husband.
Severus sat in a chair in the corner of the room, astounded by the thoughts and emotions running through his head and heart. His wife was a treasure beyond price; he was sure of that. He was proud of himself for recognizing it. Twice. He hadn't trusted her ability to handle her fears about him in the past. He would have to work on that.
His eyes had been looking out the window without really focusing, but now he saw Barbara backing toward this very room, pursued by his former friend. Barbara didn't seem quite right, and the look in Lucius' eyes was certainly disturbing. With a burst of curses he realized that he had planned to strengthen the protections against Malfoy around the house during this vacation. He reached for his wand.
As he watched, she worked her way up the yard, across the patio and right into his office. He stepped forward and caught her. She was trembling but relaxed somewhat as soon as she felt his touch.
"What have we here, Barbara?" There was just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. It braced her up.
"We have a guest, Severus," Barbara responded, as if Malfoy had dropped in for tea. She slid her hand into her pocket, and slid her wand out, holding it behind her.
"Do you have business here, Lucius?"
Malfoy had hoped to avoid Snape on this particular visit, but it wasn't to be avoided at this point, so he said, languidly, "I had heard that you were ready to set the woman aside, Severus, and simply stopped by to make an offer for her."
"You heard wrong, Lucius. I had an injury of sorts that required that we be away from each other for a few days, but I can assure you that my wife is not available."
There was a tone in his voice that made Barbara turn to look into her husband's eyes. There was love and... recognition...
"There is also the matter of the way our former colleagues have been sent to Azkaban. It seems they've been meeting an old friend, someone they had hoped would lead them, only to find themselves arrested."
"That is quite fascinating, Lucius. Would you like to have a cup of tea while we discuss it? Barbara, why don't you run along and get some tea..."
Barbara saw the look in Malfoy's eye and decided not to move.
"I'm also here to settle another score, that of my son's seduction away from the dark arts. It's wrong, Severus, wrong for you to treat our friends that way and wrong for you to meddle in my family in this way. Stupify!" Severus was caught off guard and thrown to the wall behind him. Barbara lifted her wand, putting herself between Malfoy and her husband.
"Is that what you did the other day? Stupify and then left him to die? I thought he was your friend," said Barbara.
"Not when he's worked to destroy so many things I was working for. He's in the way, now. I will destroy him and then we can have that interlude we were discussing, and then I'll decide what to do with you, and your mostly pureblood children." A chill ran through Barbara's body at the way he said it.
"Are you shivering with anticipation, my dear? That's more the welcome I was hoping for." He sent a hex toward Severus and she rebounded it.
"You will not harm my husband," she said. She tried a jinx and he sidestepped it.
"I would hate to harm you, while there's so much between us, but the traitor has to die. If you die, too, it will be an unfortunate necessity."
She couldn't move without exposing her husband to danger and Malfoy knew it. He sent hex after hex at her, which she rebounded over and over until one of the rebounded hexes finally hit him. She took advantage of the chance to cast Rennervate toward her husband.
Malfoy saw Severus stand back up and sent a blasting curse directly at him. Barbara's wand hand intercepted the curse and rebounded it, but not before feeling the hit of it.
Severus was sparring with Malfoy, now. He could tell that Barbara was hit and was trying to shield her while fighting with his old friend. She knew she was getting in the way. Out the window, Barbara saw the kids heading toward the house. The babies would need her soon. She sent a stinging jinx to Malfoy's wand hand. Her hand hurt so badly that it was as hard as when she was a third year student just learning the spell.
The jinx stopped Malfoy long enough for Severus to use a body bind, followed by a spell that bound him up in ropes.
The teens came into the house. "Can we help? What happened?"
"Anthony, Howard, I need you to run into town and ask Auror Mitchell if some of his people can come. Tell them that Mr. Malfoy is here and needs to be taken to the Ministry for questioning."
As they waited, Snape glanced at his wife. She sat down in the couch by the French doors and held her wand hand in her lap. She was trying to open and close it, wincing the whole time.
The aurors came in and asked what had happened. Severus explained and Malfoy was taken away. Severus was then able to concentrate on his wife. He sat next to her, picked up her hand, and looked into her eyes.
"Barbara, did it just hit your wand hand?"
She nodded. "It was going to hit you..."
"Yes, I know. You did just right. Girls, there's a potion I would like you to get from the dungeon."
While they were gone, Severus rolled Barbara's sleeve up and checked for broken bones and other damage.
"Some of the bones in your hand are broken. There's enough damage that should have Poppy re-set them. Are you up to the walk?"
The girls brought the potion and Severus rubbed it into Barbara's hand and wrist. The pain eased. He then wrapped it to hold it steady.
"Severus?"
"Yes?"
"How is it that you remember?"
"Remember what?"
"Pretty much everything, I think."
"How did you realize?"
"Your voice is different, and the look in your eyes. More confident, maybe?"
He thought for a moment. "I suppose that's true. The answer is, or was, in that row of vials on my desk." Her attention was drawn to several empty vials with labels that appeared to have dates on them. "I will tell you all about it on our walk to the hospital wing."
He left her in the office for a moment while he went to speak with the elves and the kids about their trip to the school. Then he came back and lifted his wife from her seat on the sofa. Putting his arm around her waist, he walked her out of the house and into the lane. After speaking to some aurors who were around the house, they were on their way.
Barbara thought that level of coddling to be excessive. "I can walk, you know. I wasn't planning to do so on my hands."
"Do you mind if I take care of my wife as I see fit?"
Barbara smiled. "The secret of your overweening kindness is safe with me. For the record, darling, I just want you to know that I know you are not just a sarcastic, angry bear all of the time."
"Speaking of bears..." Severus cast his patronus and sent it toward the school. "We might as well tell Poppy to expect us."
He started walking again. "We were going to discuss how it is that I remember. It turns out that I left directions. I discovered this when you were in the garden." He showed her his notebook and opened it to the blank page, which he tapped with his wand.
I have come to the conclusion that someone has been pursuing me with dementors for a while, now. I hate to suspect a long-time friend, but the only person who has ever had Ministry connections strong enough to accomplish this is Lucius.
I have apparently come to peace with most of my worst experiences, so instead of reminding me of my worst moments, there is a real danger of losing something, instead, if they feast upon my happy thoughts and memories.
In order to preserve the life I've come to love, I have duplicated my best memories, all of the time since I have known Barbara, into vials and closing them in such a way that only her wand or mine may open them.
The vials have been placed in a compartment in my desk in Hogsmeade that is found by opening the middle drawer all the way and pulling on the ink bottle wedged into the back.
"Is that what you were doing the week we had that beastly argument? I saw you, writing and writing."
"That, and preparing to protect our home. I had planned to perform the spells when we were all here this holiday, but of course I had forgotten all about it. My plans for that were all in the desk drawer."
"However did you duplicate your memories?"
"I put them in a pensieve, a few at a time and then looked at them from there. Then I took the ones from the pensieve and put them in the vials. I found a similar vial in my private potions cabinet at the school. I hope it includes our anniversary."
"It was pretty spectacular. Fireworks everywhere. If you don't find it, we'll go over it tonight."
He looked down at her and then at the gates they were approaching. "The one afternoon is probably gone forever. From what I piece together, I received a note that I thought was from Narcissa, asking me to meet her at my home at Spinner's End. I have told you that she once requested that I protect Draco." Barbara nodded.
"I probably thought I could go and be back before dinner, but of course, the person who really met me had other plans. Lucius, apparently. He as good as admitted it to you. I wonder if he realized that stupify actually protected me in some ways... by leaving me unconscious, he ensured that the dementors would not get overly excited by any emotions and would keep their distance. They just siphoned off the happy thoughts and didn't choose to kiss me. Your patronus made them back off, too."
Barbara was stuck on one point. "Narcissa wanted to harm you?"
"No, Draco is sure it was forged. I suspect he knows exactly by whom, which means he knows his father was probably involved."
"I'm so lucky that you fell in love with me again," said Barbara, blinking hard.
He squeezed her tighter to him. "I am fortunate to have someone who loves me with such constancy."
A/N: No scientist leaves any space unfilled in his log book. If he has to do so, he carefully marks it out, so that it nothing can be falsified in that space later. Therefore, Severus deliberately left himself a clue that he knew he would have to investigate.
Thank you, readers and reveiwers!