CHAPTER 15: The end of the beginning

Severus stared at the boy who was lately confounding every single expectation he had of him.

"I'm going to ask Dumbledore to Obliviate me."

He bit back his normal reaction to order Potter to address the Headmaster with respect. "What?" burst out of him before he could stop it, much shakier than he would have liked.

"You heard me," Potter said, his face hard. "You don't want me to remember, do you? Safer if I don't remember anything of this—fiasco—at all." He was watching Severus very carefully.

Of course it was safer. It was a good solution to all their problems, not the least of which was the Bond. The mental component of the Bond was still intact, though in a much weaker form—not that Potter knew any of this. It was still a liability. If Potter didn't remember anything of the last month, the mental link would get weaker, and Severus would be far safer. The Dark Lord would never know what had happened unless Severus himself (or Dumbledore) told him.

Then why did it feel like his chest was about to collapse?

"Or you could do it yourself," Potter said casually, as if discussing the weather. "I don't really care."

The boy was putting up a good front, but his voice cracked in places, and he had stuffed his hands in his pockets to hide their trembling—Severus had noticed. Severus pictured himself raising his wand to the boy's forehead and watching his eyes dim, losing their brightness as the memories of the last weeks left him. The hatred would return to Lily's green eyes. He, Severus, would be the hated professor again.

Severus' stomach gave a sick swoop, and his knees went weak. "No." Now he didn't bother hiding the unsteadiness of his voice. "Go to the headmaster."

The boy noticed. Of course he did—he always noticed. "Fine," he said. There was satisfaction in his voice at finally having gotten a reaction out of Severus.

Severus pulled himself together with an effort. "Get out, Potter."

Potter scoffed, grabbed one end of his trunk, and pulled it out of Severus's quarters without a backwards glance.

Severus lasted five minutes before he was charging out of his quarters and up the staircases to Dumbledore's office. He stopped dead when he reached the gargoyles.

"Password."

Severus opened his mouth and then shut it with a snap. Why was he doing this? What did he care if Potter lost his memories of their time together?

He whirled around, and headed to the Room of Requirement instead.

Wham!

Two dummies exploded simultaneously with the force of his Bombardo spell. Severus had been, as usual, imagining them ot be wearing the faces of James Potter and Sirius Black.

He debated using Harry Potter for the same task. He pictured green eyes behind hideous spectacles and overshadowed by unkempt hair. Confrigo, he thought. The dummy he was pointing his wand at burst into pieces, as did the one behind it. And with a loud crack, the wall behind the dummies half-collapsed too.

Severus smiled without mirth. Thinking about Potter was inspiring. And oh, it was a relief to be alone in his head, without having Potter's emotions influence his decisions every second of the day.

He felt the slightest twinge of guilt at having pushed the boy away, but ruthlessly suppressed it. No, they were better off this way. Harry Potter and Severus Snape did not belong together in any capacity.

"Argus will not be pleased if you bring down the castle, my boy," Dumbledore said from behind him. The amusement in his voice sounded a little forced, so Severus didn't bother turning around, though it made him feel like an errant child. "Harry has settled in at the safe house, with no memories of what happened since he left the Burrow over three weeks ago."

"Good," Severus said firmly.

"Is it?" Dumbledore said.

Severus hurriedly changed the subject before Dumbledore went down that road. "I'm surprised you acquiesced to his asinine request," he said, deceptively mildly.

"It was Harry's choice," Dumbledore said innocently. "His concerns were also for your safety, in case someone got a hold of those memories from him. He was quite vocal on that subject, despite my reassurances that Voldemort would not dare enter his mind again."

Severus snarled in reply.

"Severus—"

"Don't!" Severus had meant to shout, but it came out sounding like a plea. "Leave well enough alone, Dumbledore! We can finally put this fiasco," he placed bitter emphasis on the word, "behind us, and concentrate our efforts on the Dark Lord."

"As long as it does remain behind us," Dumbledore murmured.

Severus ignored him in favour of exploding another dummy.

"Has young Draco Malfoy contacted you again, Severus?"

Severus heaved a sigh of relief at the change of subject. He pretended not to notice Dumbledore suppressing a smile at Sevrus' transparency, or the sadness that was still clear on the headmaster's face. "No, but Narcissa Malfoy has. She wishes to meet me at Spinner's End tomorrow."


A/N: End flashback. Back to the present timeline in the next chapter.

Three chapters in one day... come on, a review?

And thanks to everyone who's stuck with me so far; thanks for the reviews, favs and follows! Next chapters coming soon..er. At least that's the plan:)