Author's note: finally, some resolution! Hold on to your hats, because this chapter is juicy!

The next morning dawned too early, the bright sun penetrating the thin curtains of the hospital wing's windows and dragging them all out of a deep sleep. Madame Pomfrey bustled about, fussing over them all and offering chocolate before pronouncing them all fit to leave. They staggered down to the great hall for breakfast, Hermione recognizing the look on Lily's face and dragging Ron away to tell him about their adventures with the time turner. Most people were sleeping in today and the great hall was quite empty as Lily poured herself a cup of coffee and they passed a platter of pancakes around. For a few minutes they ate in silence until Lily spoke.

"Harry, I need to hear everything. Start from the beginning. I need to know what your life has been like."

"Well, Hagrid was the one who gave me my letter, and then I got sorted into—"

"Before that. Where did you grow up? Who took you in after our deaths? Sirius, as your godfather, was supposed to be your guardian. I guess that didn't work out. Remus, as a werewolf, was never an option. This was before the wolfsbane potion had been invented. We had an agreement with Frank and Alice Longbottom, that if anything happened to them we would take on Neville, and if anything happened to both us and Sirius that they could take you two."

"I don't know what happened to them," Harry said, "but I do know that Neville lives with his grandmother."

"Oh." Lily slumped over, her face turning pale.

"No, I think Dumbledore decided I'd be better off in a muggle family, so he put me with the Dursleys."

"The Dursleys?" Lily sat up very suddenly. "What do you mean the Dursleys? Harry, did Dumbledore really put you with the Dursleys?"

"Yes."

"No. No, no, no, that's not how it was supposed to be. Dumbledore knew . . . Dumbledore knew how my sister treated me. There were any number of families we knew who would have taken you in. Harry, what were they like to you?"

Harry flinched. "They never liked me. They gave me Dudley's second bedroom and the scraps off his plate." He knew he was leaving out important details, but he couldn't bring himself to be truthful. "I survived, though. They stopped bothering me after I went off to school."

"I can't believe it." Lily grunted. "Our wills listed out who we wanted to take care of you. We said Sirius, then the Longbottoms if anything happened to Sirius. We knew everyone was being targeted and said that plan C, if everything else fell through, was to find someone in the order. I believe Gideon Prewett said his sister Molly might be able to take you on. Nowhere in that will did I express that I wanted my sister to have custody, anyone with a halfway functional brain knew my sister and I weren't on good terms!"

Harry didn't know what the order was and didn't want to ask right now. Instead he said, "Did Dumbledore really ignore everything in your will?"

"I'll talk to Dumbledore about it later." Lily assured him. "What have you been doing since you came to Hogwarts? I know you're on the quidditch team."

"Yeah. Quidditch is grand."

"And it's Hogsmeade year for you."

"Yeah, but the Dursleys didn't sign my form, so I've been using Dad's invisibility cloak to sneak in."

"Harry James Potter, you ought to know better than that!" Lily said in a louder voice. "That was very dangerous with all the dementors around! You could have gotten in serious trouble with McGonagall."

Harry shrugged. "I almost got in trouble with Snape once. He caught me with the marauders' map, which Fred and George Weasley gave me."

Lily sighed angrily. "What is Snape doing at this school? I've known him since before we started Hogwarts, and he's never struck me as someone who would be good with children or a good educator."

"You've known him since before Hogwarts?" Christina gasped. "That explains . . . a lot."

"I knew him when we were kids. We used to be good friends, but as time went on he started getting in with the crowd that was becoming followers of you-know-who. It all came to a head in fifth year when he called me a mud blood—do you two know that word?"

"It's a slur for muggleborns." Harry supplied, taking in Christina's confused expression. "Draco Malfoy used it on my friend Hermione last year, and Ron attacked him for saying it. Ron's wand was broken, so he didn't hurt Malfoy."

"You've got yourself a very good set of friends, Harry." Lily looked down the table to end, where Ron and Hermione were sitting. "Hang on to people like them. But anyway, after Snape said that, we stopped being friends. I started seeing your father more and got to know the marauders. Last I heard, Snape was a death eater. I have no idea why Dumbledore still trusts him."

Harry shrugged. "I think he has his reasons. I don't know why. No one likes Snape except the Slytherins."

"We didn't get time to speak about everything last night, because we were busy with Healer Smythe assessing my memory. I need to speak with him today, before everyone goes home for the summer. I need to be filled in on what happened in the twelve years I was without a memory."

The noise in the great hall was starting to pick up as people entered. It being the day after exams, most were disheveled in pajamas and talking about what they wanted to do for the summer.

"We should go." Harry muttered. "Should we all go to Dumbledore's office, then?"

Lily shook her head. "I think this is between me and Dumbledore. Why don't you two go and see Professor Lupin? I'm sure he would love some company after the rough time he had last night."

They broke in opposite directions as they left the great hall, Lily heading up towards Dumbledore's office as Harry and Christina scampered down the corridor towards Professor Lupin's office. The school was eerily quiet today, basking in the warm summer sun as its residents slept in and began packing for the long ride home. The sunlight was especially thick and warm in Professor Lupin's office, where his familiar form was bent over his desk as if nothing had happened the night before—wait, was he packing?

"Professor!" Harry stopped short. "What are you doing?"

"Good morning to you too, Harry."

"Our mum sent us up to check on you and said you might want some company." Christina filled in the gaps left by Harry.

"Are you leaving?" Harry said. "You're the best defense teacher we ever had, you can't leave!"

"I'm afraid I am resigning my post." he latched his faded briefcase shut. "Snape knows that I'm a werewolf. If it were to get out, parents wouldn't want me around their children."

"But you have wolfsbane potion!" Harry said as Lupin began emptying his desk drawer.

"And I hadn't had it last night. You see how easy it is for something to go wrong. Seriously, we were very lucky that no one got hurt last night. I know you're both disappointed, but this is for the best."

"But I don't want a new defense teacher next year." Christina leaned over the desk to examine the grindylow tank.

"I have faith that Dumbledore will hire a qualified candidate to fill the position next year."

"I don't." Harry handed Lupin a jar of pickled eyeballs. "Lockhart was a complete nutter."

"Yes, well." Lupin began stuffing smaller items into a box. "You learned something from him, no?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe." He paused to pick up a handful of quills and add them to the box. "I learned that adults we're supposed to trust can sometimes be terrible people."

"You'll both be fine next year." Lupin opened another drawer in his desk and tossed a sneakoscope, an acid pop, and a few bottles of ink into the box.

"But what are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Well, we'll see. First I'll go back to my place in London. Dumbledore expressed that he may want me as a mole in the British werewolf community—a lot of them supported you-know-who because wizarding folk don't treat them well. But first I'll be attending your mother's questioning, and then if Sirius's conviction is overturned I'll probably be helping him readjust to life outside prison."

"Are you sure?"

"Really, Harry. It's for the best. Parents would be upset if they I was a werewolf and it would be an unpleasant experience for everyone involved. I'll be ok, and you'll still get to see me fairly regularly. I'll be around."

Harry nodded and began pacing the room in frustrated circles, muttering something about Snape.

"Christina." Lupin reached into the back of the drawer and took out a small velvet box. "I know the last twenty-four hours have been very crazy. I should have told you before, but your parents named me as your godfather when you were born."

Christina nodded. "Sirius told me, during the—"

"During the jailbreak? All right. Well, you were meant to have a christening but it was postponed due to Voldemort, then we thought you were dead, you know, one thing led to another. I was meant to give you this at your christening and have held on to it this whole time." He passed her the box, which Christian opened to reveal a small silver cross pendant. "Wizards aren't a religious bunch," he continued, "but your mum wanted you to hold on to your muggle roots. She also picked out the pendant because she didn't trust me to pick out something on my own."

"Wow." Christina slid the pendant out of the box and held it up to the light.

"What's that?" Harry stopped pacing and came over.

"Christina's christening gift, only twelve years late." Lupin smiled as he watched Christina fumble with the tiny clasp.

"What? Did I get a christening gift?" Harry asked indignantly.

Lupin laughed. "That was Sirius's job. I don't remember if he got you anything then, but I do know he bought you your first broomstick for your birthday."

Harry smirked, taking the necklace from Christina and helping her clasp it around her neck.

Lupin sighed heavily and closed up the last of his boxes. "I'm afraid I'll have to head out before too many students are awake. Don't worry, though. I'm sure I'll see you all soon."

. . . . . . . . . . .

Lily gathered her robes in one fist and carefully mounted the stairs to Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle that usually guarded the door had simply stepped aside when it saw her. The office was quiet when she stepped in save for the gentle whir of the delicate silver instruments on display.

A flicker of movement caught her eye and she turned to see McGonagall emerge from the pensive. During last night's assessment, Healer Smythe had taken some of her memories and placed them inside the pensive for Dumbledore and McGonagall to view.

"Professor McGonagall—"

"Please, Lily, there's no need to call me professor. You've been out of school for fifteen years now."

Lily nodded. She still felt like it had only been three years. Twelve years of amnesia didn't resolve itself overnight. "I—I need to speak with Dumbledore about everything that's happened since James's death. Where is he?"

"I believe he is out attending to other business, but he will be here soon."

"I need to speak to him immediately. Harry just informed me this morning that he was placed with the Dursleys after we died! The Dursleys!"

McGonagall's nostrils flared the way they usually did when she was upset. "Albus claimed he had his reasons for placing Harry with them, though we never saw eye-to-eye about it. I'll leave that conversation until he comes back; I've already said too much."

As if on cue, Dumbledore strode in with Snape flapping at his heels. "Ah, Minerva, Lily. Right on time." He eased himself into his chair, Snape still hovering at his shoulder.

"Why did you put my son in my sister's care?" Lily walked up and slapped her hands on the desk. "Why? You've known her since she was thirteen, you know she has disdainful attitudes towards wizards, and you still put my son, my vulnerable infant son, in her care!"

"Lily, please, sit down." Dumbledore waved a hand. "I have my reasons for placing Harry where I did."

"He told me this morning that they gave him Dudley's second bedroom, Dudley's hand-me-down clothes, the scraps off Dudley's plate. He flinched when I asked him how they treated him." Deep down, she knew by the way Harry had flinched that he wasn't telling her everything.

"He didn't tell you . . ." McGonagall had gone pale.

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Lily, I had reasons for placing Harry in his aunt and uncle's care." Dumbledore looked at her over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "When you offered yourself up to Voldemort instead of Harry, you created a powerful magical charm that protects him to this day. Placing him with a blood relative was what allowed this charm to continue protecting him. It was the only place outside Hogwarts that he would have been safe."

"But at what cost?" Lily sobbed. "At what cost? He was neglected!"

"What cost indeed." McGonagall's nostrils were flaring again. "I already told you, Lily, that Dumbledore and I never saw eye-to-eye on this, and there's some things Harry didn't tell you. I watched the house for a full day before Harry was placed there and saw the way they spoiled their son absolutely rotten, I saw how they were and knew it was no place for a wizard child. Harry didn't tell you this, but they made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs until his first Hogwarts letter came. We both knew he was kept in a cupboard the whole time, but Dumbledore forbade me from doing anything about it." It was clear she'd been sitting on all of this for years.

"You did what?" Lily's face was turning redder and redder. "He knew? He knew what they were doing to my baby and chose to nothing? The wizarding world can give the best protection one can have, why—why—at what cost? Safety at what cost?"

"I don't think he was safe there." McGonagall said. "Safe from Voldemort, maybe. But I saw something his first year that led me to believe he was not safe in that home. This was right before his first quidditch match, maybe a month or so after he'd started here. I went into the locker room to wish the team good luck before the match, but walked in too early while they were still getting changed. I left immediately to give them privacy, but I saw these bruises on Harry's back, bruises that were all in different stages of healing. Now, I know kids that age tend to be pretty reckless, but I also know that kids rarely get bruises like that on their own and that Harry hadn't been playing quidditch long enough to get that many bruises from bludgers."

Lily took a deep breath, trying not to scream. That failed and she screamed, grabbing some of Dumbledore's tiny silver instruments and hurling them to the ground. "You—you—you knew my sister and her husband were bad people, and you still put my son with them because of some charm? I didn't want there to be a magical charm! I wanted Harry to be raised by people who love him! That wasn't safety, with them!"

Dumbledore looked at her cooly over his glasses. "By all means, continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many of them."

"I can't believe this!" Lily turned to face Dumbledore. "You are the most powerful wizard in Britain. I thought you would be able to protect my son. Clearly, I was wrong. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get my kids and go." She turned and hurried out of the room before they could see her cry.

"Lily! Lily!" Snape was hurrying after her, his cloak flapping around his ankles.

"What do want, Severus?" Lily didn't turn around.

"I need to talk to you!"

"Look, I'm sorry for stunning you last night, but I need to get my son and leave. Why are you even here? You don't strike me as the type to be good with children. Besides, you're a known death eater. Why does Dumbledore allow you around children?"

Snape grabbed her arm and steered her into an empty classroom. "No, we need to talk, now. There's too much you don't know about. You know about the prophecy, correct?"

"Yes. That's why James and I went into hiding in the first place."

Snape's mouth twisted as she said James's name but he didn't comment on it. "I was the one who overheard Sybil Trelawney give the prophecy in the Hog's Head. When Voldemort decided it was you in the prophecy, I asked Dumbledore to protect you and your family."

"Err—well—thank you, I suppose."

"Lily, I know we've had our differences over the years. But I made the decision to come to Dumbledore and ask for his help. After your death I renounced my allegiance to the dark lord, though in public I kept up the appearance of being his loyal follower. Dumbledore asked me to stay on as potions master on the condition that I protect Harry."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Wonderful job you've done protecting him. He's terrified of you and he hates your class. Why, then? Was it because of the prophecy? Was it guilt over your time with Voldemort?"

"No!" Snape threw up his hands in frustration. "I did it because of you. Because my feelings about you have not changed."

"After all this time?" She was unable to hide the disgust in her voice.

"Always."

Lily took a step back, wrapping her robes around her. "Oh. Well. Thank you for your help, such as it was. Severus, I am married. I have two children. Your feelings for a married woman cannot be the only thing between you and serving the dark lord outright. I would appreciate if you kept your distance from me unless one of my kids starts failing your class." She hurried away down the hall, looking for Lupin's office. She had to get out of here, they had to get out of here. Dumbledore and Snape, Dumbledore and Snape, they'd been the ones taking care of Harry and they'd left him to the Dursleys. The only thing standing between Severus and darkness was his love for her—she hadn't been friends with him since the age of sixteen, for heaven's sake!

She heard voices coming down the hall and ducked into the nearest doorway. It was Harry, Christina, and another girl—Sam? Christina's letters home were detailed enough that Lily was fairly certain she could recognize her daughter's friends. She didn't leave the doorway, though. She had to collect herself before she saw them. Water splashed at her feet and Lily groaned, realizing she'd wandered into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. But she shrugged and walked further in, drifting towards the sinks. This was a good place for tears.