Dumbledore strode across the great lawn to meet his Death Eater spy. The sun was nearly set and cast murky shadows over the ground as enchanted orbs glowed dimly in anticipation of night, adding to the strange aura of the Hogwarts grounds. It was not Dumbledore's favorite light in which to see Hogwarts, but it suited his purpose tonight; his conversation with Severus would be less conspicuous from the Hospital Wing, and though he strongly suspected Harry was asleep already, he did not want the boy to see him having this particular conversation.

Dumbledore gave Severus a searching look as the potion's master fell in step beside the headmaster and they made their way towards the lake. Snape did not appear hurt, but Dumbledore did not fully trust him to divulge injuries. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Dumbledore," replied Snape, but without the malice in his tone that would have answered anyone else asking that question.

"He did not hurt you?"

"The Dark Lord is…angrier than I have ever seen him, but not at me."

"Who bore the brunt?"

"Mainly the Death Eaters who tried and failed to stop you from reaching Potter when you rescued him….Nott, Crowle, and Avery received the worst. And he killed Jugson."

"Anything else to report?"

"I managed to stay behind and question Jugson before he died. I took this memory." Snape reached into one of his many pockets and withdrew a vial of a silvery substance. Dumbledore took it thoughtfully.

"It explains how they entered the castle."

Dumbledore frowned. "Why did he not trust you with the plan?"

Severus scowled. "It seems only those tasked with arranging the infiltration were informed. It was not meant to be a battle—they thought you were away from the school. They only meant to capture Potter."

"I see. Do you think they will use the same means of entering the castle again?"

Severus' face darkened "No. You'll understand when you see the memory. It involves Draco." Snape sighed. "As you predicted."

"I did nothing to prevent the attack, so my suspicions were useless. And…I am sorry, Severus. I'll do what I can to protect Draco, I promise."

Snape nodded in thanks. "In any case, he is not aiming to attack soon. He is unsettled by the manner of Potter's survival. He still trusts his own mind, but he knows, now, that what Potter made him believe was planted there when he invaded the boy's mind to find information. He will not use legilimency on him again."

"I agree."

"Still, the boy would do well to control himself a bit more—"

"Thank you, Severus, but now is not the time. Is there anything else?"

Snape said hesitantly, "He is more frightened of you than usual, I believe."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I rather expected the opposite, in all honesty. Our duel was…closer than I would have liked."

"I am not mistaken, Albus. He fears you, even more than before you rescued the boy. I almost think he will shift his focus from eliminating Potter to targeting you."

"I will keep it in mind."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore. "Are you still angry, Albus?"

"I am not the one with the right to be angry with you, and I am not the one to whom you owe an apology. Severus, you could have destroyed him."

"He would not have died from legilimency."

"I said 'destroy,' not 'kill.' And I stand by that."

"The Dark Lord ordered me to torture him! I could not have refused—"

"I know that, Severus. But you know Harry better than even Voldemort; you know what would hurt him more deeply."

Severus glowered at the ground.

Dumbledore continued, unrelentingly, "I told you not to invade his mind. Use curses, physical instruments, whatever is convincing, but do not use legilimency. You gave Voldemort the idea—"

"It's less damaging than many forms of torture Voldemort would have conceived."

"I disagree," said Dumbledore gravely. "It is your tampering with his mind, I believe, that Harry is most struggling to recover from."

Snape sneered, "Perhaps, if we were more adept at closing his mind—"

"Harry's strengths lie elsewhere, I agree. But your…torture tactics are not, in any case, what I wished to speak to you about."

"Is this about the memory?"

"Yes."

"Why does he want it back?"

"Why did you take it from him?"

"It was accidental, a byproduct of legilimency and other strains on his mind."

Dumbledore answered in a dangerously even tone, "Severus, in the past sixteen years you have not lied to me. Do not start now."

"I did not lie!"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Snape sharply.

Severus scowled at the headmaster. "How do you do it?"

"Do what, Severus?" Asked Dumbledore mildly.

"Know those things! You didn't use legilimency on me."

"I guessed. But my guesses are usually correct. Besides, Harry is, as you have less than kindly noted, not particularly accomplished at occlumency. It has been apparent to me that he retains some sense of the memory he seeks, and it contains something important to him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Snape.

Dumbledore surveyed him over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Lily, would it?"

"How dare—"

"Am I wrong?"

Snape's scowl intensified, but his silence confirmed Dumbledore's accusation.

"I am not the enemy, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Nor is Harry. You have hurt him deeply—the torture, out of necessity—but this…what you made him see, and removing that memory…those were the actions of a cruel man, something I know you are not. Severus, this is something you can fix."

"And if he…finds out?"

"I have already told you that he has an enormous capacity to forgive."

"I shouldn't have to be forgiven for this!"

"That is not what I meant. There is no need for anyone to forgive you for loving Lily. I intended to say that Harry might forgive you for taking a memory of his mother from him, when he has so few."

"Potter was there too." The bitterness in his tone made it apparent that he referred to James, not Harry.

"Severus, you cannot continue to take this out on Harry."

"I am not taking anything out on him! He has earned my dislike—"

"He has not. I cannot allow you to continue to adhere so steadfastly to that delusion. It is becoming more dangerous as your role in protecting him becomes more involved."

"You didn't answer my question."

"…if he finds out about your love for Lily?"

"Yes."

"Was your fear of him finding that out the reason that you hurt him so brutally and removed the memory so clumsily?"

In the light of one of the floating orbs, Dumbledore saw Snape's face tense. "I already apologized to him for losing control."

"At this point, Severus, the truth is more benign than what he can imagine. He knows there was something in the memory he is missing that caused you to become so…sadistic."

"I told him that I did not enjoy it!"

"And he believes that. But the fact remains that you lost control and did a better job than, perhaps, even Voldemort in tormenting him with what already lies inside his head."

"Do you think…he really spoke to them?"

Dumbledore stopped walking suddenly. "I thought this was an old memory, from when he was a baby…subconscious, not…recent."

"I lifted the cruciatus and he said..." Snape seemed to struggle with his words and looked determinedly at the ground, refusing to meet Dumbledore's concerned eyes. "He said… 'She forgives you.' I was…more confused than anything, so I invaded his mind. I saw, from just a few moments before, his parents speaking to him. It was a strange memory, more disjointed than a normal one, less visually coherent. I thought it was a moment of instability from the curse, but then…how would he have known to say that?"

"How indeed…" Dumbledore considered Snape's words in silence for a moment, then continued, "If he did, in fact, speak to his parents for a moment, then he has done you a great service."

Snape scoffed and walked on, forcing Dumbledore to continue as well.

The headmaster paid no heed to Snape's obvious desire to end the conversation and said evenly, "No spell can reawaken the dead. But…they exist. If Harry really did speak to his parents, and it was not, as you suggest, a delusion from the effects of the torture, he sacrificed a few precious moments with his parents to pass along a message to you."

"You talk as if he had saved my life!"

"Do not pretend that Lily's forgiveness—for turning to Voldemort, for telling Voldemort the prophecy, and for how you have treated her son the past few years—would not mean everything to you, Severus. I do not need legilimency to see that."

They walked around the entirety of the lake before Snape responded, softly this time. "I don't know how to give him the memory back. I didn't even properly see it before I took it from him. Even showing him what I saw through a pensive wouldn't restore it to him as a proper memory, with the sensations he felt."

"I think I have a solution for that, but I worry that he is not ready for it."

"Memories are best restored as quickly as possible."

"I will think on it. When we return to my office, will you give me the memory, as you saw it?"

Snape gave a terse, reluctant nod.

Dumbledore nodded, satisfied, and was about to turn back to the castle, but Snape stopped him with a hand.

"Albus…I wanted to ask you something else."

"Of course, Severus."

"When you attacked the Dark Lord's stronghold, you dueled with him."

"Yes."

"I watched."

"I know."

"One of his curses landed."

"Indeed."

"Albus, you would tell me if you were in danger…yes?"

"Severus, I promise I am not going to die in the immediate future."

Dumbledore's tone was light, almost joking, and Snape burst out, "It is not a joke! What do you think will happen if you—"

"Calm down, Severus. I apologize for any flippancy. I assure you that the curse did not harm me in any way."

"How?"

"That…is a matter between Harry and me."

"You're not going to tell me?" Asked Snape, incredulous.

Dumbledore reconsidered. Snape knew of Lily's sacrifice, and Harry…Snape needed to believe in Harry a little more if he was to protect him wholeheartedly in the coming war. He sighed. "In this case, I will take the liberty of divulging a little more information than, perhaps, I should. When Voldemort attacked Hogwarts at the end of June, he isolated Harry…I cast a shield around him through the Death Eaters, fought my way through, and tried to hold them off. I wasn't good enough. Curses were flying, and Harry…Harry stepped out of the shield."

"He stepped into the line of fire?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Idiot boy. What good would that do? Did he really think he was going to help you?"

"I do not believe fighting was his objective."

Snape frowned.

"He just…let Voldemort take him. It seemed arranged. Voldemort must have spoken to him through their connection, offering to withdraw his forces if Harry handed himself over. The Death Eaters disappeared—it seems that, when convenient, Voldemort holds to his promises."

"And how did this help you survive the Dark Lord's curse?"

Dumbledore cast Snape a piercing glance that registered, even in the dim light. "Harry's sacrifice gave me the same kind of protection that his mother gave him."

Snape remained silent. Dumbledore continued lightly, "The parallel is almost uncanny…Harry and Lily."

Snape did not take the bait. "The curse did not rebound as it did that night in Godric's Hollow."

"It was not the killing curse, though it would likely have killed someone of my age."

Snape rolled his eyes, as he did whenever Dumbledore made reference to his age.

Dumbledore spared him the effort of replying. "Shall we return to the castle? I have some matters to attend to, and you should rest."

"I'm fine, Albus."

"There are few who can be in the company of Lord Voldemort and not need a little time to recover."

Snape declined to respond and the two turned their steps towards the well-lit castle.

After a short pause, Snape asked tightly, "How…how is the boy?"

"He is alive, and sane, and healing. He walked today and seemed reasonably strong. His compassion and courage have not been lessened by his ordeal. But…" Dumbledore sighed, "I am still not entirely sure of the long-term effects. Poppy is taking excellent care of him, but I worry that the trauma will run too deep to heal, both physically and psychologically."

Snape glanced towards the headmaster and ventured cautiously, "A self-sacrificing tendency, even before his imprisonment, is perhaps not the best sign of his mental state, Albus."

"I know what you're suggesting, Severus."

"You can't deny the boy acts as though he holds his life at very little value."

"Harry is…desperate to protect those he loves."

"And yet, a moment of consideration should have convinced him that sacrificing himself in the defense of Albus Dumbledore is foolish and wasteful."

"In all honesty, Severus, I do not know that I could have held them all off. Not while holding the shield up. There were too many."

"Where were the other teachers?"

"Protecting the other students, or unaware that an attack was taking place."

"How did you know?"

"It is a Headmaster's duty to know if a student is in danger."

"Potter, specifically."

"He is the most likely to be in danger, so the protections and alarms around him are, perhaps, more robust than for other students."

"You didn't answer my question."

"About Harry's self-sacrificing habit?"

"Yes. Do you think protecting you—which remains, however dire the situation, an incredibly stupid motive—was the only reason he gave himself up?"

Dumbledore sighed and glanced up, unconsciously, to where the Hospital Wing lay, dark for the night. "I am worried about Harry, Severus. I will not hide that. But if you are suggesting that he's already given up, that he's accepted death and wants it over with, then I must disagree. I do not doubt for a moment that he has the strength of character and heart to make it through this war and fulfill his task."

There was a short, heavy pause before Snape asked gravely, "Does he know?"

"Not yet."

"Do you plan to tell him?"

"Of course, Severus. I can hardly keep it from him forever."

"Albus…have you considered that if Potter knew of the prophecy, of what he must do, that he might not have stepped so easily into harm's way?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes momentarily as if in pain.

"You don't want to hurt him," said Snape. It wasn't a question, but Dumbledore nodded slightly. "You already are, Albus! I think he would prefer knowing the prophecy to enduring another week of torture at the Dark Lord's hands—or death."

"I promise I will tell him, Severus."

"When?"

"The boy has been tortured to within an inch of his life, Severus! I will give him time to recover."

"So, when Potter is recovered? When will you deem him strong enough to bear the news?"

Dumbledore answered softly, "Before school begins. He will be ready to attend classes, I think. And he must be ready to hear the prophecy."