Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed. I didn't get as much feedback as I thought I would...

Anyways, I have been attacked by a rather vicious plot bunny. Hope it goes well. Thanks a lot to Badbugz for giving me feedback on this chapter and helping me to decide where this story's going to go.

It is now November in this story if anyone has lost track of time.

Chapter twenty- These Dreams Part one

"….not really sure what happened," someone was saying quietly. "He used the Legilimens curse and did something….I'm not sure what it was, but it felt like my head was splitting open."

Severus stirred as he regained consciousness and he opened his eyes to see Darian conversing in a low murmur with the headmaster, who was looking cheerful.

"When I woke up, he fainted," Darian finished awkwardly, looking guilty.

"Something must have happened to your mind, Darian and Professor Snape may have felt obligated to try and fix it," the headmaster told the boy. "It certainly would have drained all of his magical energy."

Darian stared at the ground, feeling shame creep up on him. If any permanent damage were done to his father, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself…

As if reading his mind, Dumbledore said gently, "Now none of this is your fault, Darian, and Poppy said that all Severus needed was a little rest."

"I know," Darian murmured, still not meeting his teacher's wizened eyes. "I just-"

"I thought I told you that not everything was your fault," Snape interrupted grumpily.

Dumbledore smiled. "It is good to see you up, Severus. You gave your son quite a scare."

Ignoring Darian's flush at Dumbledore's words, Severus asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only a few hours," Dumbledore told him softly. "Your magic didn't take as long as expected to replenish itself."

Severus nodded before turning his eyes to his son. "And you?" he asked quietly, almost embarrassed. "How are you…..how is your head?"

"Fine," Darian said, looking uncomfortable. He met Severus's eyes. "What happened?"

Severus closed his eyes, feeling humiliation well up in him. "I…I did not treat your mind as….carefully as I should have," he said quietly. "I inadvertently tore through one of your memories that I had stumbled upon. It….shocked me to say the least and I withdrew from it with more force then I should have."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and broke the awkward silence. "Well, I shall leave the two of you alone," he said, his eyes twinkling unnecessarily.

"I am….I…apologize," Severus said slowly when the hem of Dumbledore's robes had whipped out of sight, the word sounding foreign to his tongue.

Darian stared at him in shock before shrugging and looking at the ground. "It's okay."

"No it's not," Severus said coolly. "You don't understand what could have happened. I could have permanently disabled you; you could have become mentally unstable just because I-"

"It was just an accident," Darian reminded him quietly. "People make mistakes."

Severus felt a bit perturbed by the boy's sudden pardon. "Nevertheless," he said quietly. "It was very reckless of me."

"But you fixed it," Darian said, still not looking at him. "I should be thanking you. You almost killed yourself, you know."

"I wouldn't have had to fix it if I hadn't of done it in the first place," Severus retorted, feeling rather irritated. Why couldn't the boy simply accept the apology and leave it be?

Darian seemed to sense his irritation and he turned away from Severus, his long hair curtaining his face as Severus's usually did when he didn't want anyone to see his expression. How alike the two could be at moments.

"When I first realized how I had torn your memory," Severus said very carefully. "I was afrai…..I feared that I had done permanent damage." He took a breath, very unused to sharing his emotions. "You were in so much pain and yet you didn't seem to react to it at all."

Severus broke off and turned away from the boy, finding that he was unable to express the panic that had gripped him when he had realized what he had done to the boy…his own son… He could have easily crushed the boy's mind, reduced him into nothing more then an empty shell, something akin to the Longbottoms. That thought caused a ripple of emotion wash over him.

Darian shrugged again and looked up at his father with hooded eyes. "You said you wouldn't view any of those memories," he said, sounding almost weak. "You told me that you wouldn't probe that deeply into my mind after you saw that memory a week ago!"

"I know," Severus said quietly. "I apologize. It wasn't…intentional." God, did it hurt to let go of his pride like that.

Darian nodded slowly and Severus frowned. The boy was far too forgiving for his own good. One of these days, it was going to get him killed along with that saving people-thing he still seemed to posses. But as his mind conjured up the image of a lifeless Darian, the four year-old child from his dream flickered across his conscience.

The boy only lingered for a little while before he left to finish some last minute homework (which was Potions). And just as Severus was about to take his leave from the Wing, Dumbledore came back in.

"Severus," he greeted, smiling as if they hadn't seen each other in years. "How did your talk with your son go?"

Severus arched an eyebrow as he straightened his outer robe. "And here I thought you were at the door listening the whole time."

Dumbledore smiled tolerantly. "Ah Severus. No matter how many of the same traits Darian and I can seem to have, eavesdropping is not one of them. I was hoping I could have a chat with you over tea?" He raised his wand to conjure the tea, but Severus stopped him.

"Actually, I was just leaving, Albus," he said briskly.

This didn't dampen the headmaster's mood. "Why don't we just go to my office then?"

Severus gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more then to simply go to his chambers and fall asleep for at least twelve hours before he had to deal with those irritating brats again. But he knew that the old coot would just continue to badger him until he complied.

He heaved a sigh, not caring if it was immature. "Best get it over with now," he grumbled, following the headmaster.

"Severus," Dumbledore scolded lightheartedly as they approached the stone gargoyle. "You make it sound like our talks are a punishment, my boy. I've always seen them as quite liberating."

"Are you trying to flatter me?" Severus asked in a bored voice.

"No, my dear Professor, merely stating the truth," Dumbledore told him cheerfully as he plopped down in his chair. Severus hastily settled into his usual chair, feeling exhausted despite his long hours of unconsciousness.

"Now," Dumbledore said once he had summoned a rather horrid tea set. "You seem rather distraught, my boy. Is there anything wrong?"

Severus stared down at his steaming cup of tea. How many times had the headmaster asked him those four words? And how many times had Severus answered with a 'Nothing, Albus'? But Severus could feel his recent dream weighing heavily upon his mind.

"No, Albus, just a dream I had."

Dumbledore sipped his tea and nodded for him to continue. "Was it one of your nightmares?"

Severus flinched and quickly set his full cup of tea back on the desk. "No," he said tersely. "It was worse." 'Worse,' he thought to himself. 'And yet so wonderful, so perfect, so….' He broke the thought: so unreal, so fantasy, so delusional.

"Worse? How so?"

Severus took a deep breath. "It was a….good dream, I suppose you could say." He didn't need to look up to read the headmaster's confused expression. "Lily was in it," he said quickly, and understanding dawned on Dumbledore's face.

"Oh," the old man said quietly, sitting back. "I see."

Severus nodded. "Darian was in it too," he went on. "He was just a child of four." He shook his head, his lank, greasy hair barely moved.

"Go on," Dumbledore said with a touch of uncertainty.

"We were," Severus paused, almost unable to form the next word, "…happy." He was silent for a moment before looking up at the headmaster with haunted eyes.

"What happened," Dumbledore asked gently, curiosity lining his voice.

"Lily was angry at me, furious actually." He let out a brittle laugh. "I was taking Darian up on a broomstick for probably the first time."

"I could imagine how happy she'd be about that, especially with him being only four," Dumbledore mused with a wistful smile. "She had quite a temper, that one."

Severus nodded. "That was about it," he murmured and somehow knew that Dumbledore could tell just how much that small portion had meant to him. "Lily and I talked about her sister's family," he scowled, fury coursing through him. "That terrible woman and her husband-" he sneered "-Dursley." The name was spat out like a disgusting swear word. "We had recently visited them, and that man was horrible to Darian." The fury he felt now towards the disgusting muggle seemed almost as real as the fury he had felt in his dream.

Dumbledore remained silent.

"It was so peaceful," Severus finished, remembering how the orange glow of the sunset had cast a halo around Lily's head.

Dumbledore sipped his tea thoughtfully. "Almost like what could have been?" he asked softly and Severus nodded.

"Yes," Dumbledore said knowingly. "Sometimes wizards and witches do that. It is a very special type of magic; magic has yet to be fully controlled by us. When we miss our loved ones so much, our minds almost leak into an alternate."

Severus stared at the old man. He had never heard of this branch of magic.

"So, sometimes, we can almost see how our lives could have been," Dumbledore told him.

Severus frowned and stared at his hands. He would give (almost) anything to have Lily back. So many nights he had spent thinking of her, of what could have been. When Darian had been pushed into the picture, Severus had imagined a life with an innocent, young boy with emerald green eyes that radiated with innocence and purity, something Severus knew, had never happened in this life.

"It is a strange type of magic," Dumbledore's voice broke his thoughts. "A mixture between love and longing, two of the most powerful branches of magic blended together to create a wild, uncontrollable magic that's fueled by a strong emotion. It could only be something that strong to be able to cross universes." He paused. "I do believe that Darian's ability could somehow be connected with this branch of magic with his yearning to defeat Voldemort once and for all, and to save his friends along with the love and hatred he has felt in his life. Quite amazing isn't it?"

Severus nodded numbly, wanting nothing more then to fall back asleep and hope, pray, that his mind would somehow retrieve another memory from another universe.

"But you must not let this control you, Severus," Dumbledore warned, as if reading his mind. "This magic is very dangerous. Depending on these dreams is almost like depending on the Mirror of Erised except all of your dreams may not be good ones. You need to be very careful."

"And how do you propose I do that?" Severus asked a bit waspishly. "You, yourself said that this magic couldn't yet be controlled by wizards so what do you expect me to do, Occlude my mind?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted and Severus almost gawked at him. "While Occlumency could help, these dreams are of your subconscious, something beyond your direct control. The way you push these dreams away is not by focusing on the problem itself, but rather on the details." At Severus's confused expression, Dumbledore sighed. "I mean that it is a long term thing. Change the way you think about things." He smiled. "Get to know Darian, Severus. It will help. You must realize that Lily is not completely gone from this world. She lives on through your son, and once you realize that then you will find that you won't be aching for her as much because you know that part of her is still with you."

Severus bit back a retort of how Dumbledore was just trying to get him closer to the boy. But Dumbledore was right. He couldn't think about those dreams, not of what could never happen. He needed to focus on this world, on his Darian. And yet it was hard, so hard to ignore the chibi-Darian from his dream. How he wished the young boy could be his….

He felt a wave of guilt strike him at the fact that he would gladly trade his Darian for the one in his dream. They were the same person, and yet so different. He wanted the son in his dream because he knew he had raised that boy in another world; he actually was a father to him; he had been there to see Darian take his first step, to hear him say his first word, to see him receive his Hogwarts letter. But, no, that wasn't him. The man in his dream wasn't him and yet he so wished he could trade places with his alternate. He didn't want to be left with an abused son he didn't know. He wanted a son he had raised; he wanted a boy that he knew, that would depend on him. His Darian couldn't do that, not now. Oh, how he wished…..

But wishes got you nowhere. He had learned that years ago after looking into the Mirror of Erised, and could still remember how long he would sit in front of the mirror, staring at his greatest wish: Lily, alive and vibrant once again. It had taken him almost two months (as well as much of Albus's time) to finally rid himself of the mirror's addiction. He didn't want a repeat of that.

As Severus stumbled tiredly into his chambers moments later, he collapsed on the bed, half-heartedly occluding his mind and trying to think mainly of the Darian of his world.

"You know you're never going to grade those papers fairly if you're half asleep while grading them," Lily stated as she leaned on the doorframe in his private office.

Severus put down his red-inked quill and stretched, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. "It would be rather uncharacteristic of me if I graded fairly now wouldn't it?"

Lily shook her head, her red locks swaying gently. "No wonder every student hates your class," she said in a semi-teasing voice. "I feel especially bad for Darian's friend, Miss Granger. She tries so hard and yet you only give her an 'E' at the highest."

Severus smirked. "Well, if I were to give her the satisfaction of an 'O' then that would stimulate her pride and cause her to cease working as hard," he pointed out logically.

"Go to bed," Lily commanded tiredly, suddenly looking very worn. Severus noticed the changed and stood from his desk, not even bothering to straighten his papers as he walked over to her.

"It's going to be alright," he assured her softly and her face screwed up in obvious pain.

"No it's not," she whispered in strangled voice. "You know how bad the war is going on now. I thought he'd be safe here."

"And he is," Severus reassured her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her towards their rooms.

"Not for long," Lily murmured, staring bleakly at the floor. "With the prophecy Albus just told us…" She trailed off and stopped, putting her face into her shaking hands. "Why did it have to him, Severus? Why couldn't someone else have been destined to defeat that monster?"

"It could be worse," Severus told her softly.

"It couldn't," Lily denied, shaking her head.

"Would you rather he be in Longbottom's place?" Severus asked quietly, referring to Neville Longbottom, who had been in St. Mungo's with his parents for the past three years.

"No!" Lily exclaimed. "It's just….I just wish…"

"Hush, I know," Severus tried to comfort her, though he felt a bit uncomfortable standing in the middle of the halls where any Slytherin could try to throw a hex at them. It had happened once before, when Severus had been talking to Albus. A Slytherin seventh year, David, had thrown a suffocating hex at Severus's head while trying to pass unnoticed. It had been so unexpected that had it not been for Dumbledore, Severus would have spent the next few days in the Hospital Wing.

"When are we going to tell him?" Lily asked in a raspy voice, staring up at him through tearful green eyes.

Severus sighed and folded his arms. If it were really his choice, he'd never tell his son. The mere thought of having to break the news to Darian, knowing that he was practically throwing the weight of the world on the boy's shoulders. For Merlin's sake Darian was only fifteen! He shouldn't have to worry about defeating Severus's former master just because that damn fraud Trelawney had made a prophecy about it three nights ago.

"Now," he said quietly and Lily's head shot up.

"Now?" she repeated incredulously. "But Severus we only just found out the news."

"It is about him," Severus said firmly. "He has more of a right to know then we do and the sooner we tell him the better." He looked into Lily's eyes. "You know he'd hate us for keeping the truth from him for a long time."

His wife turned away, hating to admit that he was right.

"He's waiting for us," Severus reminded her, glancing at the door to their rooms. Darian always met with them once a week at night.

"He might've already headed back to his dorms," Lily said. "It's past eleven."

But Severus knew Darian would probably wait all night for them, if only to get to stay out of bed after hours. Indeed, when he pushed the door open, Darian was sitting leisurely on the couch, writing on an already three foot long parchment, his features serious, focused solely on the essay he was finishing.

"Took you guys long enough," Darian said without looking up.

"Dumbledore needed to speak to us," Lily said, glancing wearily over at Severus. She sat heavily down beside Darian and put an arm around his shoulders, while absently tousling his hair with the other.

Darian scowled in annoyance and shifted under her touch, having grown too old for affection from his mother. "Do you have to do that while I'm writing?" he asked touchily, though not angrily.

Lily smiled weakly before standing up and joining Severus on the couch across from her son.

"Darian," she began uncertainly, wringing her hands. "We need to talk to you about something very important."

Darian frowned and looked up from his parchment, slowly laying the quill down, obviously sensing the seriousness of the situation. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Albus has just informed us of a prophecy that was made a few nights ago," Severus answered carefully. He paused. "It was made about you."

Darian stared at them unsurely. "Me?" he asked hesitantly. "What kind of prophecy would be made about me?"

Lily opened her mouth but closed it again, looking at Severus with a lost expression.

Their son stared at their tense expressions. "Mom?" he asked slowly. "Dad? What…what's going on?"

Severus came to a decision and carefully pulled out a small piece of paper. He handed it to his son. "Dumbledore gave us this," he said warily.

Darian looked at him for a moment before reading the paper.

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing what was to come. He knew the words on the paper by heart, despite obtaining them mere minutes ago:

The end of the battle draws near, its conclusion in the hands of the Chosen One.

The Chosen One must prosper, for darkness shall reign if his failure comes to pass.

And he shall be blood to the traitor of the Dark Lord, child of the flower.

He shall be the Dark Lord's equal in every feature down to blood, but what the Dark Lord lacks, he possess. And one must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The conclusion lies in the hands of the Chosen One…

He stared determinedly at his hands, listening to his son's labored breathing.

"This…" Darian whispered, crumpling the paper. He blinked several times, obviously unsure of how to react. Finally, he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Are…are you sure…?"

Severus closed his eyes, unable to bear the overwhelmed look on his son's face. "Yes," he murmured. "You are the only one who fits that description." Indeed, he, Severus, was one of the only real traitors of the Dark Lord, and Lily had to have been the flower.

Darian slowly shook his head. "I can't," he said weakly. "I can't…" He shook his head more violently. "I can't do this!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet, staring at the paper clutched in his hand as if it were the Devil himself. "How...how could you put this on my shoulders!"

Lily's eyes filled with tears and she stood up, wrapping her arms around him.

"No!" Darian snapped, yanking away from her. "Don't…" he broke off and turned away. "Don't baby me. I need to…I need to handle this." He ran another hand through his hair.

"Darian, honey, you know we'd give anything for it to be false," Lily whispered, though she made no other attempt to pull him into a hug.

Severus also stood beside his son. "If it could be changed…if there were any possibility that it was someone else…" he swallowed. "But it's obvious that it's you."

"That's just it!" Darian exclaimed almost happily. "It's far too obvious that it's me! Prophecies are usually very complicated. Why would this one be so easy?"

"Darian, you're in denial," Severus told him calmly, placing a hand on either shoulder. "You've just got to relax and-"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" Darian roared, wrenching away from his parents' hold. "How can either on of you say that? You don't know what it's like for this to be…to be just thrust on your shoulders." He stopped and paced in front of them for a moment. "Right when everything was going perfect this had to happen," he whispered weakly, sinking on the couch.

Lily sat beside him, wrapping an arm around him and holding him against her chest. This time, Darian didn't resist and leaned into mother, his shoulders shaking in silent sobs. Severus moved closer to his son and sat on the other side of him, reaching out a hand to rub soothingly on the boy's back.

"It will be okay," he placated softly. "You are not alone in this, and don't ever forget that."

"Yes," Lily agreed, brushing a strand of raven hair away from Darian's face. "We're here for you."

Darian looked up at them with gleaming eyes and swallowed heavily, reaching a hand up to angrily mop away the tears that were threatening to fall. He said nothing but leaned into his parents' hold over him and closed his eyes.

Severus watched him with a concerned look. He reached out to tuck a strand of loose hair behind Darian's ear and looked up to meet Lily's soft eyes.

Severus observed each freshly made potion almost carelessly, paying no heed to young Miss Diggory's potion, which was starting to shoot violet sparks. His mind was stuck on his recent dream.

The mood of the dream was quite unlike his previous one, of course. It may have been the fact that it was many years later. But Severus felt there was something very different about his latest dream from his first one. What if his latest dream was actually another alternate? Was that possible? He remembered Albus telling him that one of his dreams might not be as pleasant as the first. Severus didn't really find this one all that pleasant, though it was a far cry better then his world.

It suddenly hit him of how Darian must have felt when the boy had first heard of the prophecy (a different one from his dream but with the same meaning). He imagined the Darian in his dream would probably have broken down had it not been for Lily and him. Did his Darian feel the same way? Sure Dumbledore had been there, but Darian hadn't had a parent to hold on to.

Months ago, when Severus had first discovered that he was a father, he had felt that the boy was far too old to be crying on shoulders and being soothed by comforting touches but now he realized that Darian did need someone like that, someone like the Severus in his dream. But could he be that person?

Severus shook his head furiously. He was different from the Severus in his dream. He had lived a life of solitude while the alternate of himself had spent those years raising Darian and loving Lily.

The bell signaled the end of class. Severus absently dismissed them, marking each potion as an automatic 'A' without even looking at them.

A/N- Thanks and tell me what you think.