That night, Dumbledore walked into the potion masters rooms to find a sulking figure on the couch. "Severus?"

The figure scowled. "What, came to make fun of me with all the stupid things I did these past weeks?"

Dumbledore groaned inwardly. How could anyone manage to be so difficult? "No, Severus, I'm not going to make fun of you. Do you remember anything from the past weeks?" That being the one thing Harry and Hermione had been unsure about.

Severus nodded. "Yes, but it's like they're really 35 year old memories. Bits and pieces keep popping up when I do certain things, but I can't always purposely recall them. I've been trying to. Need to determine how many points to deduct from Gryffindor," he sneered.

Albus gave him a very stern look. "No matter how you feel about those two, Severus, they did sacrifice their holiday AND a lot of sleep to find that antidote. You deduct one point from them for it, and you'll find yourself back in the corner of my office sooner then you can say 'Polyjuice'."

He ducked as a book came flying his way. "I HATE YOU!" the potions master screamed, fuming, "You probably enjoyed this, didn't you? Parading me around in front of those students."

Dumbledore tried to sit down next to him but the man moved like a shot to the other side of the room. "No, Severus, I just wanted you to be happy while you were three…" He was interrupted by another book.

"Oh yes, sure, use me to placate your own guilt. Do you think letting me make a fool out of myself for three weeks makes up for you messing up the first time?" he sneered sarcastically.

Dumbledore sighed. "Fine, Severus. I'll go. But I want you to at least look at this," he said, drawing the photo album from his robes, "see how much of a fool you made of yourself. How much we made fun of you. I'll drop by in the morning."

Severus stood quietly for a long time after the headmaster left, rubbing his temples as the memories of his three year old kiddyfied self rushed through his mind. He slowly moved towards the table and picked up the photo album. It was well past midnight when he finally tumbled into bed, exhausted.

The headmaster came by in the morning, like he promised, expecting another tantrum. Instead, the potions master was sitting quietly at his desk, face looking tired and, to Dumbledores surprise, tearstained.

"Headmaster," Severus softly said, "I…I'm sorry."

Dumbledore sat down on the other side of the desk. "For what, Severus? Because you don't have to apologise for yesterday, its only natural to be upset after all that happened."

Severus shook his head. "Still shouldn't have said all that, shouldn't have thrown things at you…" he shivered. "I…I can remember a lot of it, actually," he admitted, "Though its a bit blurry sometimes, like real childhood memories. It's…I…" he got lost in his explanation and fell silent, frustrated with himself.

Dumbledore longed to pull him close and tell him it would be all right, but he knew he couldn't do that just like that anymore. "Did you look at the photos, Severus?" he asked carefully.

A nod. "I…I remember a few things very clearly. Hurting Minerva is one of the most prominent," he admitted, "Voldemort, though not all that much, must have been too painful. You being mad at me for disobeying. I…I thought my parents were right, I was a horrible kid. But those photos," he gestured, "You…it almost seems like you love me."

There, it was out. He stared at his desk and waited. Then he heard a chuckle.

"No, Severus, not 'almost'. You weren't a horrible kid at all, in fact, we were all totally crazy about you. Molly Weasley doted on you, really."

Severus' eyes widened. "But…but why did you change me back, then?" he splurted out, "If you liked me so much? I mean...Harry and Hermione…we were having fun…why would they WANT to go through all that trouble to get back an evil, sarcastic, biased, slimy git who has never been lovable? WHY?"

The despair was obvious. Dumbledore walked around the desk. The potions master flinched and looked up a bit scared. The headmaster just pulled him to his feet and wrapped him in his arms. "I know you probably won't forgive me for doing this, Severus," he said, "but you clearly need a hug. Do you remember when I was mad at you for disobeying, I came to your room a little while later and we had a chat?"

To his surprise, the body in his arms slowly relaxed and allowed the hug. "Hmmmyeah, I do…I thought you didn't love me anymore. I had been disobedient on purpose after all. And then you said…" he stopped, not wanting to go further or he'd burst into tears.

Dumbledore patted his back. "I said that we would always love you, when you were bad and when you were good. And I still mean that, Severus. I loved you when you were three and I love you now. No matter what, Sevvy."

Severus cringed as the tears made their way down his cheeks. That name. That blasted name. It blew all his defenses to bits.

Dumbledore continued to hold him. "It's ok, Sevvy, it's been very confusing for you. I love you, my dear boy, I love you so much."

Shamelessly, Severus buried his head against the headmaster and cried while he was held and rocked, soothed with the gentle words he had just started to remember.

After a while Dumbledore summoned a damp washcloth from the bathroom and wiped the wet and dirty face. "Better?" he asked.

Severus nodded. "Albus? Can I ask you something?" he said timidly.

The headmaster continued to run the cloth over his face, noticing the calming effect it had on the man. "Of course, child."

Biting his lip, the potions master asked "The…the kitten…I vaguely remember something about it being mine, and I know I loved it a lot. What happened to it?"

Dumbledore smiled. "She's up in my office, actually. Yes, she is yours, but I didn't want to bring her with me yet. Do you want her back?" Severus nodded, staring at his hands.

Dumbledore called Dobby. "Dobby, would you get Ablus and bring her down here?" The elf disappeared.

"Ablus?" Severus asked, smiling slightly. Dumbledore glared.

"YOU named her that, young man! Don't you dare laugh now!"

Dobby reappeared with the kitten. It meowed happily and jumped on the potions masters lap. "I named her after you?" the potions master said, seeing the blue eyes and the white patch.

"Yes, you did. You kept calling me Ablus, so that's what you named her. You might want to change her name now, though, I'm not sure what the students will think when they discover you have a cat named Ablus…"

Severus paled. "Oh I don't even want to think about that…" he frowned. "I'll reverse it. It won't sound so bad and no one will notice she was really named after you. Sulba. If you don't mind…I'm sure you weren't very happy with me for naming a female kitten after you…" He looked up a bit unsure.

Albus laughed. "Well, Harry and Hermione certainly thought I would hex them when you named her that, but I felt really honored, actually."

"Harry and Hermione?" Severus asked.

Dumbledore looked at him kindly. "They gave her to you as an early christmas present after your little run-in with Minerva. Remember?" Apparently he did, as he first turned pale, then red, and finally lowered his eyes.

"Where are they anyway, Albus? Have they gone back to the Burrow for the last few days before the new term?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "They're in the potions lab, actually. They wanted to see if they could modify the antidote so it can be used to cure a wide variety of de aging potions and spells. So they decided to stay."

Severus nodded. "A broad spectrum antidote, eh? Ambitious."

Dumbledore smiled. "Well you know Miss Granger. Always looking for a challenge. Apparently Harry has acquired a taste for potions too." Dumbledore stood up, scratching Sulba behind the ears and patting his potions master on the back. "I need to get some work done, I'm sure there are about a dozen owls waiting already to be relieved of their letters."

Harry and Hermione had spent the morning working quietly in the lab, then went to the Great Hall for lunch. Professor Snape was absent, they noticed.

Dumbledore saw them and called them over. "You two are looking miserable," he said bluntly. They shrugged.

"Missing Sevvy, are you?" he continued in a soft, kind voice. They nodded and stared at the table. "He needs time, children. He isn't doing as bad as I thought, though. He's confused and was angry with me yesterday, even threw books at me, but this morning he asked for Ablus and wanted her back. He has reversed her name, though, she is now called Sulba. Afraid of what his Slytherins would do if they discovered he named his cat after me, I'm sure…"

Two faces looked up in surprise. "He wanted her back? Does he know we gave her to him?" "Yes, he did remember that."

They glanced at each other. "He remembers things?"

Dumbledore, recalling that this wasn't a very encouraging discovery for them personally, grinned. "He says he remembers his time as a three year old like he would remember real 35 year old memories. Flashes when one is triggered, clearer memories of moments of intense emotion; hurting Minerva and ending up with Voldemort. He can't always intentionally recall them, though."

Hermione drew out a notebook and tapped it, recording the information. "We better get back to lunch and then to the lab. Goodafternoon, professor." They ate quickly and returned to work.