While everyone else gasped around him, Teddy simply appeared affronted. "That's not cool. I'm Teddy, remember?" he scowled.

"Teddy…" Harry's jaw dropped. "Teddy? My Teddy?" He reached forward to touch the boy's head. It was real. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. He pulled his hand back and struggled to sit up straighter. "Teddy! How old are you?"

Teddy held up five fingers. "But you missed my birthday," he added glumly. "So you'll have to come for my next one, okay?"

"No, no, no. You're only one! You haven't even turned two!" Harry was frantic as he looked at Andromeda for support. "He hasn't turned two yet, Andy," he blurted out. He dropped his heavy head in his hands as he tried to make sense of things. "Where's Malfoy?" he wanted to know. "He's been hurt. There were four men, armed and disguised. I-I managed to immobilize two of them and then-"

"It's four years after that," Ron said over the ramblings.

Harry shook his head stubbornly. "He was hurt with a-a dagger, I think. He's been hurt. I couldn't make out their faces, but if I see mug shots, maybe I could identify the one with the knife. He stabbed me and…" He paused. "Ah, he stabbed me!" He grabbed at his chest in a panic. He found no blood, of course. He lifted his eyes up to meet Teddy's. "Is that what you meant? Did I nearly die?" he asked in disbelief.

"You aren't making any sense," Teddy sighed. "Besides, you didn't nearly die. You properly died."

"Properly?"

"Yup."

"What do you mean 'properly'?" Harry asked carefully.

"We buried you and everything," Teddy answered with ease. "But that's okay. Edward dug you out when he heard you."

Harry was gape mouthed once again.

Dr. Bryce took the moment to turn his patient his way and examine his pupil dilation. Everything looked normal. There were no signs of a seizure or the like. Other than an elevated blood pressure and a quickened pulse, Harry was physically fine. Unfortunately, he seemed to have lost a few years in his mind. "Could you tell me the last thing you remember?" Dr. Bryce murmured.

"I already told you," Harry replied. "Malfoy and I were assaulted by four men."

"Do you feel a void in your memory, Mr. Potter?"

He shook his head. "I don't even know what that means."

"I see." The doctor looked back at his nurse who was frantically scribbling notes on parchment. "We will prepare you for brain scans later today. If you will excuse me, I need to speak with some colleagues." He hurried out of the room, the nurse following him out without pause.

Harry slumped against the pillows while massaging his aching temple. He had just realized that Molly and Arthur were present in the room as well. He hadn't been able to make them out without his spectacles but as they walked nearer, he recognized them. "Properly dead?" he said under his breath. "Four years?" Molly had enveloped him in a warm hug. He rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his strained eyes. "I'm so confused…"

"Four years ago, Harry, you got hurt," she started explaining. "You sustained severe brain damage from a blow to the head one night. That was the night you were attacked by those men." She touched the side of his head. "You were in a coma for so long. Many months." She let go of him and kissed his forehead lightly. "Then you disappeared. Right from your bed, you were gone. We couldn't find you for nearly two years."

Ron joined his mother, standing behind her so he could continue. "Hermione found you in Forks. That's in the States, remember? You were living with the Cullens for two years. You must remember that," he urged. He was met with a blank look. He clicked his tongue in dismay. "They took you in. You had lost your memory of everything – magic, Hogwarts, home, us… When we found you in Forks, you were living in their home. Hell, you couldn't even remember the war."

"This isn't making any sense to me, Ron. I didn't go anywhere. I've been here all along."

"Oh dear," Hermione murmured.

"You can't forget about the Cullens," Teddy admonished his godfather. He crawled up to him and plopped down on his lap. "You can't forget them. They were nice to us, right? We even met werewolves, remember?"

Harry couldn't. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I just… I don't know what you're talking about."

"When you died," Teddy kept going, "we were all so sad." He looked at everyone for encouragement. Andy managed a weak nod. "See? So sad. But now it's okay. Because you aren't dead. I think that's great."

Harry turned to Hermione for more comprehensive answers. "So you're saying I can't remember anything from the past four years," he asked her for clarification.

"Well… three years, to be precise," she answered. "Rabastan Lestrange found you in Forks last year. He tried to hurt Edward and you were stopping him, but the stress was too much for your body to handle. Your heart stopped beating at the hospital. You died. We buried you last March."

"Rabastan Lestrange?" Harry was so shocked that he didn't even hear that last part. "I'm sorry, did you just say Lestrange?"

"He was the one who attacked Malfoy and you, right?"

He exhaled. "Goodness, that… W-we caught him?"

"No… He disappeared after he attacked you again last year. The Aurors are still trying to get a fix on him."

"I see."

Ron tsked. How was Harry getting sidetracked like this? "You can't remember anything!" he said to bring the conversation back. "That's a problem, Harry!"

"But I can remember everything," Harry argued, albeit a bit weakly. "Just… not the past four years, apparently…"

Hermione was nodding the whole while. "It's strange, isn't it? Four years ago, he couldn't remember anything at all. Now he can't remember the past four years. I wonder…"

"Stop wondering and figure out how to mend him!" Ron wrenched his hair.

Harry was inspecting Teddy intently. "You really are five, huh?" he thought aloud as he flattened the boy's hand over his. "You're so grown up. You'll be going to Hogwarts before you know it." He ducked his head to press a hesitant kiss on Teddy's palm. "You felt sad?"

"Mhm." Teddy nuzzled against him. "I felt sad. So you aren't allowed to die ever again, okay?"

"Okay."

"And, Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Harry turned red abruptly. "Oh."

Teddy laughed as he hugged his godfather tight. "I'm so glad!" he crowed. "Everyone will be so glad!"

The door opened without fanfare and the Head Auror walked in quietly, much to the amazement of everyone present in the room. Harry was most amazed, of course. "Ah, Mr. Robards," he stammered in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Dr. Bryce mentioned something about a statement," Gawain said. He hid his bewilderment wonderfully, holding Harry's gaze without wavering. "I trust you are well, Harry."

"I'm… I think so," Harry replied. "I'm not exactly sure what… I mean, they say I've lost four years…"

"But you do remember what happened with Mr. Malfoy, when you were found hurt, don't you?"

"Yes, of course." Harry proceeded to recount the altercation with as much detail as he could pull out of his muddled mind. He tried not to get distracted by Teddy moving against him or Molly's concerned expression. Even if he was confounded by everything that was happening now, at least he could recall the events of that night. He told Gawain all he could about Draco's intention to defect from the Dark Army and the motive behind that resolution. "Hermione tells me it was Lestrange, sir," he added.

"Rabastan Lestrange, yes."

"You haven't been able to find him yet?"

Gawain looked frustrated when he said, "No." He slid his hands into his pockets while shifting his weight. "You see, we did not realize that Lestrange was the culprit until recently. We were operating under the assumption that Mr. Malfoy was the one who had attacked you."

Harry didn't believe him at first. However Gawain made no attempt to correct himself, which caused the younger wizard to blurt out, "You what? He was hurt! He was-"

"He was not at the scene when you were found. And witnesses placed him there. We did not even entertain the assumption that he was a victim as well."

"But then where is he?"

"Like I said, we did not realize that he was the victim until recently. He is working with us now."

Harry was taken aback. "He's what?"

Gawain allowed himself a dry smile. "Yes. Hard to believe, isn't it?" he acknowledged. "He has been cooperating with us, helping us dismantle the Dark Army. His family had extensive contacts. And now that we have your statement that fits with his, I can only imagine how relieved he is going to be."

"Wow…"

"Well." The Head Auror tipped his head down. "I best be off, Harry. The team will be thrilled to hear of your recovery. And perhaps we can expect you to come down to the station in the near future, hmm?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Gawain said his goodbyes and strolled out of the room.

Harry turned his astounded expression towards Hermione and Ron. "Malfoy's working with us now? I never thought he would agree to something like that."

"Like we said, it's been so long since then. He got tired of hiding."

"Mhm." He absently teased Teddy's fingers between his. "So… If I was dead, how am I alive now?" he wondered.

"We're just as confused as you are," Arthur mumbled.

Hermione shrugged. "The doctors will want to run more tests. They wanted to wait until you were conscious." She sat on the edge of the bed and rested a hand over Harry's arm, reassuring herself that this wasn't a dream. "You really gave us all a scare with what you did. You were using wandless magic, trying to stop Lestrange from taking Edward. You used too much energy. You need to learn to control it. Otherwise you are only going to keep hurting yourself."

"Wandless…"

"You never told us you could do that."

Harry had the presence to appear sheepish. "Ah, I… I didn't think it was a big deal," he tried to explain. "I mean, I… I can't really do much with it. Just a bit of levitation and blocking."

"You cast a full blown shield," Ron emphasized. "That's not just a bit of wandless magic."

Harry hadn't been expecting to hear that. "A full blown shield?" he repeated. That wasn't possible. "No, I can't do that. I've never done that before."

"Well, you did," Hermione maintained. "And you died doing it."

"That has got to be the stupidest thing you could have done too," Ron stated heatedly.

Harry couldn't remember it, so how was he supposed to respond to his best friend's jibe? He looked down at Teddy instead. "You aren't mad at me, are you?" he murmured.

"Nope," Teddy beamed.

There was a quiet knock on the door and the nurse poked her head inside. "Ms. Granger? Could I have a word?" she asked Hermione. The young lady nodded as she got up to her feet. She needed some air in any case. She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Her heart sank when she realized why the nurse had called for her.

The Cullens had just arrived.

Carlisle and Esme were standing by the door, hand-in-hand. Rosalie and Emmett stood behind them, waiting eagerly. Jasper and Alice were leaning against the opposite wall so as not to block the corridor. They had been talking quietly amongst themselves. And Edward sat in a chair by the room with his arms crossed tightly against his stomach, staring straight ahead at his clairvoyant sister.

"How is he?" Carlisle asked as soon as Hermione looked at him. "Is he allowed visitors?"

"Ah, yes," she faltered. "B-but there's… He's… He's lost his memory again."

The coven stilled upon hearing the news.

She went on to say, "He remembers everything up until four years ago, when he was attacked by Lestrange here. You know, before he went into his coma? He thinks it's the day after."

"Oh no," Esme exhaled. Rosalie flicked her frightened eyes at her husband. He wrapped an arm around her. Jasper watched Alice carefully, noting her far-off expression. Edward closed his eyes.

"But he is very coherent," Hermione added for their sake. "It's okay for you to go in and see him. We've already talked to him about this. He knows that he has forgotten."

"But he does not remember us," Carlisle mumbled. Hermione didn't want to say it out loud. Her silence was a good enough response.

Edward unfolded his limbs and stood up. "I have to see him."

"Of course. All of you, come on in." Hermione opened the door and entered the hospital room once again. Everyone was where she had left them. "You've got more visitors, Harry," she announced.

Harry had to crane his neck to look around Molly, Ron, and Arthur.

Teddy gasped excitedly when he caught sight of who had arrived. He scrambled off of his godfather's lap and struggled to his feet so that he could stand on the mattress with his fists at his hips. "Look who's here!" he hollered. He pointed a finger at Harry. "Look!"

Edward felt like he could breathe again…

Teddy jumped off the bed with wild abandon and ran forward to grab Edward by the hand. "Come on!" He grunted and heaved as he pulled the vampire forward. "Harry's right here! Don't look so sad, Edward! Look happy now! See? I'm looking happy now!"

Ron and his parents stepped away from the bed, letting the Cullens through. They examined Harry nervously. Teddy didn't stop until he was able to get back up on the bed. Then he let go of Edward and clambered onto Harry's lap once again. "Look who's here, Harry," he sang. "Aren't you happy too?"

Harry stared up at Edward for the longest while, eyes scrunched up slightly so he could see more clearly.

"Sit down," Teddy ordered the vampire.

Edward complied, sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed. He was so close to Harry. Close enough to hear him, see him, touch him… This had to be heaven. Feeling that familiar warmth, listening to those muffled thoughts, watching emerald irises flit so quickly… He must have died as well.

Harry breathed out noisily and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wait a second," he mumbled. "You lot buried me alive…"

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks except for Teddy and Edward.

Harry was frowning by then. "I was locked inside a coffin," he continued deliberately, "and buried six feet deep for Merlin knows how long and now you come in here… WITH A STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE? YOU POOPHEAD! I SAVED YOUR STUPID, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LIFE AND YOU BURIED ME ALIVE? I NEARLY DIED DOWN THERE, YOU IDIOT! I OUGHT TO-"

Teddy slapped his hands over Harry's mouth, muffling the rest of his words. "No shouting," he scolded sternly. "We're in a hospital, so you have to be very quiet."

Harry let out an angry puff of air and glared at his godson. Then he stuck his tongue out, licking Teddy's palm.

"Ew!" Teddy pulled his hands back, furiously wiping them on the bed sheets. "Gross."

Edward's smile widened. He had missed all the yelling too. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Harry sputtered. "Sorry? SORRY? DON'T YOU SORRY ME, EDWARD! WHERE'S MY BLOODY WAND?" He started sweeping his arms under the sheets and by the pillows. "I'M HEXING YOUR STUPID FACE OFF!"

"Don't do that." Teddy was getting very concerned. "He needs his face."