Disclaimers: Neither the idea of Harry Potter nor the characters belong to me in any way. They are the sole property of JKR. I do not make any money of this story either.

Author's Note: This chapter did not want to be written until recently. For this reason I am terribly happy to announce, that Amnesia is no longer a work in progress, but a finished story. Thanks to my betas Darkmoore and Christine for poking me once in a while and asking me how it's going with the story.

Chapter 10 – One step

Poised on the brink to the future, Severus just stood there for a moment. His eyes were on Albus, who had taken this last step and now seemed to stand further inside their shimmering wall of protection unmoving and surrounded by a multitude of colours. Afflicted by doubts he was hesitant to follow. He let go of Albus hand and drew back a little. What if he had not changed enough? What if Harry was still possessed by Voldemort and without memory? Would he end up in a world as repugnant to him as the last one? Severus shuddered at his train of thoughts and forced himself to think positive. "Maybe everything will be fine. Everything will be as it should be." Saying it aloud did not make it true, he knew that, but it made him feel better.

Albus' figure vanished slowly; he was fading from this time. There was no place for either of them here. The bubble of green light was the only thing that made it possible for him to live here. With Albus gone this last protection would contract until there was only enough space for Severus, but time would refuse to go on without him. No matter how long he stayed there, safe between green walls of energy, whenever he chose to walk through the barrier that separated him from his life, it would be like no time had passed.

For a split second he wanted to stay behind in the bubble, out of time, completely safe from physical and emotional pain. Then he squared his shoulders, gritted his teeth and steeled himself for what might come. The literature he had studied in order to perform the tempus via spell had been less extensive than he had wished. But every source he had found was unanimous about the fact, that no-one had ever come back from this spell. Most had gone mad and the only thing they had uttered were moans and screams. No-one had told them about the sensations, about the pain and the disorientation. Some had not come back at all.

Severus Snape intended to be the first one to come back into the new timeline without losing his mind. Changes were barely measurable, he knew that. He might not even remember doing any of this, but some individuals could identify altered memories easier than others, Albus was one of them. The headmaster would tell him, what they had done, Severus was sure. Bracing himself for what was coming Severus followed his friend.

One last step and he was through...

i Falling. An intense feeling of vertigo enveloped him and there were swirling colours all around him, confusing and sickening. He closed his eyes in self-preservation and flung his arms open as if to stop the movement or at least slow it down. The kaleidoscopic maelstrom around him could not be shut out, the colours tantalising through his eyelids. They made him physically ill. His stomach made somersaults and feeling like he was in free fall Severus screamed out in panic.

He could not even hear his own voice. Then it was over. /i

... the barrier. His feet were back on solid ground and the sensory overload ceased as he swayed on his feet. Overbalancing a little because of the suddenness of it, Severus barely remained standing. There were so many new memories flooding him and his overtaxed mind shut off.

"What is the problem with him, Poppy?" Harry hovered at the end of the bed, his eyes fixed on the pale figure on the bed. "Is he alright?"

Madame Pomfrey gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes before she turned to the young DADA teacher. "He will be fine. Kindly leave now." By now she was used to the situation. Every time either of them was sick or injured the other became the bane of her existence. It started to grate on her nerves less than she would have expected. In a way she was just happy that their difficult Potion Master had finally found someone to be content with.

"I can't leave him alone," he said, clearly affronted and not appeased by her assurances. He conjured a chair from thin air and sat down on the other side of the sick man.

Poppy glared briefly at Harry, then decided that it was not worth the hassle. It was useless to deny either of the two. Both were stubborn to the end. Nevertheless she made one last effort of telling the younger of the pair that there was no need to worry, "Severus is well, he is as healthy as I expect him to be. As far as I can tell the heat got to his head." With a last stern look at Harry Potter-Snape she turned around and left for her office without further comments, fighting against a small smile that came to her unbidden.

Alone with his husband Harry tentatively reached out for Severus hand. The way the older man had just collapsed next to him on their way from the Quidditch Pitch had been more than just a little frightening. Suddenly he had stood stock still, his eyes had widened and he had moaned as if in pain, then collapsed without so much as a cry for help. Harry had never seen anything like it and did not want to see such a thing ever again.

There had only been one time in their relationship when Harry had been more scared for his partner than now.

I Harry stood in the middle of their living room, getting ready for the battle. The information had reached them only minutes ago, Death Eaters had apparated in Hogsmeade and were moving into their direction. It would take them half an hour to reach Hogwarts and gather - enough time to bring the children to safety and prepare for the oncoming battle. Enough time to be scared for the loved ones going into a fight with him. Severus was pacing the room impatiently, his hands deep in his pockets and Harry knew him well enough to read this as sign of his fear.

The older man was scared for him and the knowledge made him feel warm despite his own fear. Even after all the time they had spent together as a couple Severus still very rarely showed his feelings so openly. Suddenly he stopped in front of Harry and turned to face him.

"Here, Harry," Severus said softly and held out both his hands with several small vials in different colours. "Voldemort is very powerful, and the two of you have a connection. Merlin knows what happens when you cross wands with him again." His voice was shaking, but only very slightly, unnoticeable for anyone who did not know him well. "I have been working on these, to protect you three. The blue potion is for you, the green one is for Hermione and the red one is for Ron. Drink them before the fight and try not to die."

Harry did not know what to say to Severus' sign of caring, so he smiled serenely at his partner and carefully took the vials out of his hands. "What do the purple ones do?"

"They were Hermione's idea and will strengthen the final spell in your battle-plan," Severus answered silently.

Feeling Severus' pain, Harry smiled reassuringly and put the vials in the vial pocket of his robe, then reached out to grab the lapel of Severus' black robes and gently pulled him closer into a strong hug. "Albus has drilled us for this, Severus, you said yourself that we are as ready as we'll get. You know that he has to be stopped, once and forever." Feeling his partner cling to him like he was a life-line, Harry stroked his back along the spine to calm both of them down. "Don't worry, Severus, we will be fine. Everything will be fine," he whispered gently, for both their sakes.

Suddenly Severus pulled back and looked intensely at Harry, "Promise me to come back." There was a desperation in his words that made Harry want to stay in the castle, in their rooms and never go outside again.

"Only if you promise not to leave," he said gently, an impish smile securely on his face. It was a promise he had asked from Severus countless times, meant to make his skittish lover finally admit to himself, that they both could not go back to the way things were before they became a couple.

For a long moment Severus said nothing, then he pulled Harry closer for a gentle kiss. "I promise," he breathed when they parted for air.

Not wanting to destroy the atmosphere Harry whispered, "I will be back." They looked at each other for a long time, then kissed briefly before they walked off without another word, both to the places they had been assigned to previously.

Harry did not have to wait long before the Death Eaters stepped out of the dark folds of the Forbidden Forest. Voldemort was the last who appeared, his men like a wall in front of him. A visibly pregnant Hermione was standing to Harry's right, hand in hand with her husband, their wands in their free hands. They both looked determined.

The fights started immediately, but no-one raised a wand at Harry and his friends. They had been right, Voldemort wanted to dispose of him personally, but held back. He obviously was waiting for Harry to come to him instead of fighting his way through the battle lines.

Looking around Harry thought his heart would stop beating. Severus had been circled by several Death Eaters. They were taunting him with words barely audible over the noises of battle.

Scared of losing the older man Harry forgot their grand scheme completely. "Severus", he whispered. He would have run off to save him if Hermione's words had not held him back.

"He will be fine, Harry, remember the plan. We have a far more important duty."

He closed his eyes for a moment then turned away from what had the potential to destroy his life. "Let's go." It was the hardest thing he had ever done, to turn his back on the man he loved in a time like this. Torn between his need to keep Severus safe and his desire to kill the man who was responsible for the death of so many people was very painful. No matter how much he loved Severus or how important the man was to Harry, he had to take care of Voldemort first. Once and for all.

Resisting the urge to look for the tall, black clad figure in the chaos Harry, Hermione and Ron set off towards their own battle. I

They had both survived the battle, but Harry had spent weeks in the infirmary. Voldemort's dying present had been a vicious spiritual attack directed not only at Harry, but also at Hermione and Ron. Even without knowing what spell he had used, they were sure the chances of surviving that without the protective spells and potions would have been close to zero. Very close to zero.

Even now Harry did not know why Severus had decided to brew those potions for them, especially as they took more than a month to make. How the older man could have thought that they would need the extra protection was still a miracle to Harry.

Harry had borne the brunt of the attack, so he had been the only one ending up in the infirmary and until Severus had stormed into the room, Harry had been certain that the Potion Master had died. It had been the worst day of his life.

Gently stroking Severus' hand Harry banished his dark thoughts of the past and concentrated on the present. Pomfrey would never lie to him, but the younger man could not evade the thought, that people did not just keel over.

Slowly drifting up from sleep Severus felt wonderful. The gentle stroke of a warm hand on his arm made him feel all warm and the softness of the bed felt like flying. He did not want to open his eyes and lose the vestiges of this wonderful dream he had had. Harry had been there, he had sounded worried, but he had been there.

So lonely, he had felt so lonely. The tears burning in his eyes were like a relief, he had never mourned. Never mourned the loss of the other part of his soul, not even when he found him again and there was no recognition in those green eyes. Hermione would never forgive him that he did not help Harry, that he had not been there to save him. He would never see little Melinda again, the little wonder. And Severus had already started to love the little Weasley tyke more than he had ever anticipated.

"Severus."

Keeping his eyes closed, Severus breathed as normally as he could. That voice. Could that be Harry? But Harry was dead! He had died with Hermione and Ron at the final battle, leaving him alone in this world. Hermione. His confusion mounted. Hermione survived, did she not?

She gave birth to Melinda Weasley, with an excited Ron running out to tell Harry and him that their little daughter was perfect.

Utterly confused by his conflicting thoughts he opened his eyes to find a pair of sparkling green ones look back at him. "Harry?" His voice was nothing but a croak. Confused at his erratic thoughts he closed his eyes again briefly. How could he remember all of them being alive and still believe them dead?

The younger wizard practically threw himself over Severus, disrupting the confused mess his thinking was. "Don't ever do that again, I was worried out of my mind."

Slowly realization seeped into him that he must have had a bad dream, a dream so real, that it had mixed with his reality. They had not died and Harry had never lost his memory, his family was intact. He hugged Harry back, unable to let him go for fear the nightmare was real and the moment of happiness he was currently living through was only a dream. When the Harry in his arms did not dissolve into nothing he calmed down, content to sink back into sleep.

Sitting in his office Albus Dumbledore stared at the letters sporting Severus sharp handwriting displayed on his desktop. "What do you say, Fawkes, was it right to send Severus back?" The phoenix twittered a little and then settled on his lap. Contemplating the crisp pages Severus had left for Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione and Ron the headmaster absentmindedly stroked his white beard. "Yes, I think so, too. He did rather well, no?" Gently petting the bright plumage of his friend he read through the letters again, not that he needed to. The headmaster had not forgotten anything, not a minute of his stay behind the protective time-bubble.

He had the blessing – or curse – of remembering both time-lines. I Sometimes I'm too clever for my own good, /I Albus thought, a deep sigh escaping him. Normally he had himself under better control, but at the moment he had to deal with a dual timeline that was slowly driving him to distraction.

When he had created the Tempus Via spell he had been young, opportunistic and hopeful. Even though he had been a positive person, he had a deeper understanding of human nature than most wizards. He had known the human mind well enough to know that there would be people who would utilize it for their own goals. Unknown to everyone else involved, he had decided all by himself that this spell was far too dangerous to be left unsupervised – and had included more than just one safety measure. Excluding himself from forgetting the time-lines and the immense pain were only two of them.

No-one could come back from the spell and be sane without Albus himself participating. The old wizard had known fully well that there was not only danger from people like Grindewald and Voldemort. The Minister of Magic himself would have tried to change things, not heeding the dangers involved or the ethics behind such a thing. Fudge had been a disgrace for the office when the time for action had come and had proven all of Albus fears right.

Gathering his thoughts he swept the letters into the upper left drawer of the desk and locked it magically. Fawkes almost purred, left his moving resting place, flew around the room once, and then settled on his usual perch.

Everything was as it should be.

The End.

A/N: Comments? Criticism? Suggestions? Review :). I'd appreciate it.