Ron and Hermione paced restlessly outside their friend's room. They were both still speechless over the events of the past few hours. The events of the evening flowed continuously through their minds as they tried to understand exactly what had happened.
After Severus had woken up—been healed—risen from the dead—whatever you wished to call it, he had looked quietly around the chaotic hall, looked down at his torn robes and then looked over at the still form of his son. He slowly stood up, walked over the small heap and bent down, gathering him in his arms. He turned back to Bill and Draco for a moment, looking at them silently for a moment before turning back to the doors and starting to make his way out. Bill and Draco immediately fell in behind him, Hermione and Ron followed at a more discrete distance.
When they had reached the front doors to the castle they were stopped by Dumbledore's booming voice demanding that they remain in the safety Hogwarts. Severus merely turned back to him, glared, and then twisted his family crest ring to portkey them back to the manor. Bill wrapped his arms around Draco and used his own portkey, a necklace that Severus had given him earlier in the summer.
Ron and Hermione had immediately checked in with McGonigall, knowing that she would be looking for them if they didn't. Their head of house knew that they often went to a private room somewhere when they needed to be alone and she accepted it, knowing the stress that they were under as Harry Potter's closest friends was immense. As long as they checked in before disappearing she didn't complain. Ron and Hermione slipped away quickly, using their portkeys to go to the manor.
They had arrived to this scene. Severus had disappeared inside Tallis' room the moment that they had arrived and had barred the door against all entry. Draco and Bill sat slumped on the floor outside Tallis' room. Ron and Hermione paced, unable to sit still yet.
"He hasn't told you anything yet Bill?" Hermione asked once more.
Bill was in a deep shock. He hadn't uttered a word since it had happened. He stared blankly at the door, unable to take in anything around him.
Draco answered for him. "No, Granger, he hasn't come out at all," Draco replied with only a twinge of frustration despite the fact that she had asked the same question at least twenty times since she had arrived. He was in shock as well. The four waited in silence for a while more, each one wrapped up in his or her thoughts.
"That spell can't have worked. It can't have done. You can't heal someone who is dead. He must have just been in a coma. Voldemort must have made a mistake this time," Hermione said suddenly.
This finally woke Bill up and he and Draco exchanged a knowing look. They had both been very close to the body of the potions master for enough time to tell what had happened. It was quite clear that he had been dead. There could be no doubt. They were saved from responding by the door opening. Severus walked out slowly, still in his torn robes. He looked like hell.
Draco and Bill scrambled to their feet, waiting to hear an update.
"He's in a coma, as far as I can tell. He is definitely alive but seems unable to wake up. I'm not sure how long he will remain like this, or if he will ever wake up."
They all knew that it was far too dangerous to take him to a hospital right now and they needed to keep him as far away as possible from Dumbledore. They were left to themselves to diagnose and treat Tallis.
Hermione started crying quietly, leaning into Ron's embrace.
Bill looked anxiously into the room. "Can I see him?"
Severus nodded and stepped aside, allowing Bill entrance. The others started to follow but Severus halted them, wanting to give Bill a few moments alone with Tallis.
Bill knelt beside the bed, completely undone by his lover's pale and drawn face. "Hey love," he whispered, "you need to wake up now. You have us all worried. Your friends are all outside waiting to see you. Please Tallis. Please be ok." He waited expectantly for an answer and then sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be receiving one anytime soon. Two miracles were too much to expect in one day, even from someone who continually did the impossible. He remained there, unmoving, studying his lover's still face as though he were committing it to memory.
After an hour Severus entered the room again and sighed when he saw that Bill hadn't moved. "Come on Bill. Take a seat," he said with more gentleness than anyone would have ever expected from the usually cold man. He leaned down and grasped Bill's arm, pulling him to his feet and helping him regain his equilibrium.
"What are we going to do?" Bill whispered brokenly.
"He'll be alright. He's just in shock right now, I'm sure," Severus said firmly.
"But you said it yourself, Severus. No one knows what would happen to a wizard of his strength if he touched someone while using healing arts."
Severus didn't say anything, he merely pulled Bill to the small sofa that he had moved closer to his son's bed. The two sat in silence, staring at Tallis, wishing that they had at least some idea of what was going on. "Where are Ron and Hermione?" Bill asked, finally noticing that they were gone. "Draco too."
"The Gryffindors went back to Hogwarts to collect Poppy. I can only hope that they made it to her and back out without Dumbledore getting his hands on them. Draco is sitting by the fire. He came in with me. You were a bit distracted."
Bill nodded, unable to find anything else to say. He looked up once more when he heard the sound of a heavy chair being dragged on the ground to see Draco pulling his chair closer to the other two men. The three settled into a heavy silence.
"Where is he?" they heard Poppy's outraged voice sound in the hall. She didn't like the fact that her patient had been removed from her care but she completely understood the necessity of her friend's actions.
The men immediately stood, calling her into the room.
She rushed in and tossed down her bag, bending over her patient and muttering incantations immediately to ascertain what exactly had happened to him. "You were right, Severus. He seems to be in a healing coma of sorts although it is different from any healing coma I have ever seen. There is something that is off about it but I can't pinpoint what exactly it is. It appears that he will be out at least for the rest of the night, maybe part of tomorrow." She straightened up and glared at the others. "You need to get your rest now, all of you. You'll be needed later to help take care of him. Only two people can sit up with him and you'll be taking shifts. The rest of you off to bed, now" she ordered.
No one attempted to argue about it. Bill and Severus reluctantly allowed Ron and Hermione to take the first turn since they had yet to truly see their friend because they had left to get Poppy. Everyone else went to their rooms, Bill settling into Ron's room and Draco into Hermione's. The night moved slowly as they took turns sitting with Tallis, each one wondering what it was that Poppy had seen in her scan that wasn't right. Could it simply be his immense power that made the scan seem a bit off or was there something wrong with him?
Morning came and the small group was once again gathered in Tallis' room. "Do you think he'll wake today, Sev?" Draco asked quietly.
"I don't know. He looks a bit better today, doesn't he?"
"I've never seen him sleep with such tranquility. He looks so peaceful—almost happy, doesn't he?" Hermione said, brushing his hair aside tenderly.
"He's always so restless when he sleeps. He's never this still unless I'm holding him and even then sometimes it's not enough to keep him calm. It's strange to see him like that on his own," Bill said, resisting the urge to climb into bed with Tallis and wrap his arms tightly around him, assuring himself that his lover was all right.
They all jumped an hour or so later when Tallis started to move. Bill and Severus stood and moved closer to the bed and into Tallis' view if he should open his eyes. The deep green eyes blinked once, twice, and then managed to stay open for a moment. He looked around himself curiously, eyes pausing on the small group of people and then moving on. They finally stopped at his Father and Bill. He smiled hesitantly.
"How are you feeling?" Bill asked, anxiously pressing in closer.
"OK," Tallis said and then paused for a moment, looking around his room once more. "Who are you?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.
Bill gasped quietly, unable to find words for a moment. "Bill," he managed to get out in a choked whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again. "My name is Bill."
"Oh. My name is Tallis." The deep, silky voice was gone and in its place was a lost innocence that none of them had ever heard in their friend, even when he was a first year.
The three students exchanged nervous looks. What the hell was going on? They all straightened up when they realized that the unnerving innocent green gaze was on them.
"Who are you all?"
Hermione answered for them all. "I'm Hermione and this is Ron and Draco."
"That's a funny name."
She smiled weakly at him. "Do you know that man?" she asked, pointing to Severus. She wanted to see if he knew anyone or if he had full amnesia.
"That's my Daddy," he said proudly then looked nervous for a moment after his proclamation. "It is, isn't it?"
"Yes, Tallis, I'm your Father."
"I knew it!" Tallis proclaimed. "We look just like each other!"
The small group looked between the two men in silence. While the resemblance was clear they were in no way that they would ever proclaim the two men near twins or anything. Perhaps it was a simple wish fulfillment on his part, having grown up with a family whom he looked nothing like. Fitting in was very important to Tallis and it always had been. Looking like a family member must have been something that was deemed important to him when he was younger.
"Do you remember what happened?" Severus asked hesitantly.
Tallis looked out the window as he thought, scrunching up his forehead. "No," he finally said.
They were saved from trying to figure out what else to say to their confused friend by Poppy's timely entrance. "How is our patient feeling today?" she asked brightly.
Tallis looked up at her. "Are you my doctor?"
Poppy paused for a brief moment before quickly slipping into her healer mode and rolling with the situation. "Yes, dear, I am. I'm Doctor Poppy. I need to get a bit or information for your file. Can you tell me your name?" she asked, grabbing a tablet of paper from a nearby table, knowing that muggle doctors always noted things down in files. She used files herself but because hers were magical she could merely spell the results of the tests to be written into the file. It appeared that he had some memory loss and she hoped that talking might bring the memories back. If nothing else she could determine how long it might last—she refused to entertain the idea that it might be permanent.
"Tallis Snape."
She raised an eyebrow at this, confused as to how he remembered his new name but she continued. It was a good sign that he remembered something from the present. "How old are you Tallis?"
"Six." Quiet gasps filled the room and Poppy glared at them. They had to have expected it after their earlier conversations with him. The group immediately quieted down.
"I see."
"Daddy, Did you forget how old I was?" Tallis asked, turning to Severus.
Severus laughed weakly. "It can be difficult to remember, Tallie. Answer the doctor's questions now."
Tallis obediently turned his attention back to Poppy. "When is the last time that you were sick?" she asked, knowing that muggle doctors often had to ask similar questions since they couldn't use magical scans to simply tell.
Tallis looked at her warily. "A bit ago."
"And what did you have?"
He continued to hedge. "Boys get sick a lot."
"Who tells you that?"
"Aunt Petunia."
"I see," she said, exchanging a long look with Severus. "Can you tell me about the last time that you were sick?"
Tallis paused for a long time, his hands twisting the blanket. "I'm sure that Daddy knows. I'm tired," he announced. "Can I go back to sleep?" he made a poorly feigned yawn and lay back down, scrunching his eyes closed tightly before she could answer him.
Poppy nodded, knowing that she wouldn't get much more out of her friend while he was so cautious. After a few moments Tallis opened his eyes and stared forlornly out the window to the bright garden, wishing he could go outside and play.
Poppy and the others withdrew to the corner of the room. "He clearly suffers from some form of amnesia. I am uncertain how long it will last. I believe that it will leave him eventually though, given that he already remembers some current details such as his name and you, Severus. That is a good sign that he isn't fully stuck in the past. I will warn you though, the things that he remembers might be few and far between. He might have moments in which his past seems to be more clear to him and he might suffer from flashbacks. I can't yet tell if he is going to be the child he would have been if he had grown up with you, Severus, or if we will see the child that the Dursley's reared. It might last a day or it might last a month. I really don't know what to expect."
"Can we go talk to him so he can stop pretending to sleep?" Ron asked, having noticed that his friend was still staring out the window, glancing over worriedly at the group talking with his "doctor" every few moments and then clenching his eyes tightly shut to feign sleep in case his Father or Doctor Poppy should look over at him again.
Severus smiled when he saw his son's antics. He had never gotten to see his son in such an innocent state and he had given up hope of ever experiencing anything like a childhood with his son. As much as it pained him to see Tallis so carefree knowing that he had never gotten the chance for that in his true childhood it was also a blessing of sorts, getting to experience this with his child. "Of course. Perhaps the three of you could take him into the garden that seems to be fascinating him so much. You may need to help him get dressed. Use the usual caution, Ron, when approaching him about dressing."
"Shouldn't I do it? He usually reacts better to women."
"He thinks he's six, Mione, and he's not gay yet…or doesn't know it yet. He'd die if you saw him naked," Ron said. Draco laughed quietly.
Severus smiled and walked back over to his son. "Tallis? Draco, Ron and Hermione want to go play in the garden. Would you like to go with them?"
Tallis sat upright in bed, practically bouncing in his excitement. "Can I?" he asked, his green eyes sparkling in joy.
"Of course. You just need to get changed and you can go."
Tallis scrambled out of bed and ran to his closet. He looked nervously at Hermione and Poppy. "You need to go now. I'm getting dressed," he ordered. The women smiled and quickly left, followed by Severus and Bill who was looking back into the room, worried.
Severus noticed that Bill had not spoken since he had introduced himself to Tallis. "Let them get outside for a bit and then you can go join them. You have to realize that he doesn't really understand what is going on right now. He thinks he's six, Bill. To a six year old you look like an adult, not a kid to play with. Don't worry, he'll be back to normal soon enough," Severus said quietly to Bill.
Bill nodded hesitantly although it was clear that the information did not comfort him.
Back in the room the two older boys watched their friend as he stared at the door to the closet a bit warily before turning the knob and going in. He looked at the racks of clothes in wonder and then started to pull down a shirt. It was enormous, going nearly to his knees. "Why are my clothes so big?" he asked, worried that something was wrong with him.
"Those are Bill's clothes, Tallis. He stays over sometime. Your clothes are on the other side," Ron explained.
"Oh." Tallis pulled the enormous shirt off and pulled down another one from his side, finding that this one fit much better. He pulled on some trousers as well and then turned to leave the closet, gasping softly when he realized that the two young men were standing in the entrance and blocking his way out. He shrank back into the clothes, hiding as well as he could behind the long robes that hung there.
Ron realized the problem instantly and pulled a bewildered Draco outside the doorway, leaving the exit free. "Come on, Tallis, let's go to the garden!" he called out cheerfully.
Tallis peeked one wary eye out from behind one of Bill's enormous robes and saw that he could leave safely. He ran out of the closet quickly, relieved to be in an open space again.
"Do you want me to pull your hair back Tallis?" Draco asked, noticing that his friend was struggling with the long hair. Tallis nodded eagerly and Draco grabbed a tie from the nightstand and quickly tied the offending hair back.
"Ready!" Tallis said, practically jumping in excitement.
The boys ran down to the garden where Hermione awaited them with a bunch of multi colored balls that she had conjured while the boys were dressing. Ron and Draco looked at her as if she were insane but when they saw Tallis' excitement over the toys they decided it must be a muggle game. Both decided without any words that if it made their friend this happy then it was worth whatever pain it put them through to learn it.
"Let's pick teams! Let's pick teams!" Tallis yelled.
"What are we playing, mate?" Ron asked, completely bewildered.
Tallis stared up at him as if he were insane. "Dodge ball. Haven't you ever played dodge ball?" Ron and Draco shrugged, having no idea what he was talking about. "It's the best game ever! I…well, I never got to play yet 'cus Dudley doesn't want me to but I like watching it…when I'm allowed," he finished lamely, his excitement dwindling as he thought about it more.
"But we're going to play now," Hermione said, trying to bring back his earlier excitement. He grinned up at her, shaking off his earlier melancholy. "Who do you want on your team, Tallis?"
Tallis stared at them each solemnly, trying to pick the best teammate. "I pick Ron and Daddy."
"Erm…Tallis, I think it might just be us playing," Draco said, unable to imagine Severus Snape playing a muggle game that involved a large number of rubber balls.
"Oh," Tallis said sadly. "Maybe if we ask he'll change his mind…?" he trailed off hopefully.
Ron and Draco exchanged similar 'who is he kidding?' looks but didn't want to be the one to turn him down. They were adjusting to the situation as quickly as they could but both of them found it incredibly strange to be dealing with their friend who was usually incredibly mature for his age while he thought himself to be six. They had long since grown accustomed to being the ones who felt like children near him, not the other way around, and it was disconcerting to feel older than him for once.
Hermione simply grabbed his hand and started pulling him back to the manor. "Let's go find out, shall we?" She had a feeling that her Professor wouldn't deny his son anything. He rarely denied him his wishes when he was completely well; with him in this state she simply couldn't comprehend him refusing.
They knocked on the study door, Tallis practically dancing in nervous excitement over playing his first game of dodge ball and getting to be the captain of his team. Severus opened the door and looked down in surprise at his son and Hermione. "Yes?"
Hermione nudged Tallis gently, encouraging him to ask his question. "We're going to play dodge ball," Tallis finally announced firmly.
Severus raised an eyebrow, completely confused by the conversation that was taking place. "I see."
"Well?" Tallis asked expectantly.
Severus looked at Hermione for assistance. "He was wondering if you and Bill would like to play with us."
Severus closed his eyes briefly at the mere idea of playing such a game (whatever it was) but quickly shook it off. Here he was getting a chance to be a dad to his son, to make up for all of the years that he lost with him when he could have done things like this. "That sounds wonderful. Shall we?" he said, motioning toward the door.
Tallis jumped over to his Father and clasped his hand tightly. "It's going to be great! It's you and me and Ron against Hermione and Draco and Bill. Ron's never heard of dodge ball, can you believe it? But neither has Draco so we'll still be ok," he prattled on happily, completely unaware that his Father and Bill had no idea what he was talking about either.
The group made it outside and listened to Hermione's brief introduction to the fine art of dodge ball. The purebloods all thought the entire thing absurd—honestly, throwing rubber balls at each other! What the hell was the point?—until they started playing and then the true war began.
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A/N: I know it is a bit cliché to have Tallis lose his memory at some point in these types of fics but I love amnesiac!Harry fics and it is too fun to write. Only a few more days until I get my DSL and I can update more regularly! Thanks for all of the reviews and thanks for sticking with me through my Internet woes.