Chapter One

Silent Encounter

A new year had come and gone, and the world had slowly been put back together. The final battle had left Hogwarts' Great Hall in ruins, the ceiling having collapsed almost completely, but now the sun could show its bright face against the enchanted roof again. Yet, the days still held no such bright light for Severus Snape. Except for no longer harboring an obvious preference for Slytherin House, his mood seemed worse and he seemed less approachable each day. As he helped place the final touches on the Great Hall, he couldn't help but remember the many meals he had eaten here as a student, stealing glances at the Ravenclaw table where she had sat, the few meals they had eaten together as professors; suddenly he shook his head and cursed, angry with himself for letting her intrude upon his thoughts again.

As Severus came out of his reverie, he noticed Remus and Albus whispering in the corner and stealing glances at him. If they are plotting again, Severus growled in his thoughts, never letting the emotion cross his face. Remus appeared to be distressed, and Albus was missing the familiar twinkle in his eye, but Severus could see something akin to hope in his gaze as well. Even as he interpreted their facial expressions, they pivoted and seemed to be determined to speak with him; a small jingle of one of the outer wards of the school grounds commanded attention, and Severus quickly breathed a sigh of relief. Someone had arrived, someone expected, or the rather obnoxious alarm would have sounded instead. Either way, he was thankful for the distraction.

Despite his curiosity, Severus remained in the Great Hall, taking a seat at the round table set up for the staff until students were finally allowed to return to the school in two months time. He could just hear the faint voices in the entry hall, and tried to put faces to the tones. One was clearly Albus, and the other was also a man, younger, American, but it seemed as though there was a third person he was also speaking for.

"Bryce Coleman, a pleasure, I am Albus Dumbledore, this is my Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Remus Lupin, and this must be your beautiful fiancée that you wrote of!" Albus gushed in the foyer, and Severus could actually envision his beaming features and outstretched hand.

"It's an honor to finally meet you sir. Indeed this is my fiancée, Kelly Ritter. She also says she is pleased to meet you. She says it is a privilege to meet a wizard as distinguished as yourself, and she looks forward to working with you."

Severus, still trying to envision the scene, stumbled in his thoughts, confused as to why the man was speaking for the girl, and why Albus had started enunciating more clearly as he thanked the girl for her comments. The man, this Bryce, chuckled and then stated, "I apologize for not explaining. Kelly is a mute, a severe medical accident I'm afraid, but she can hear and understand you just fine."

Holding back a rare laugh at Albus' blunder, imagining the very slight flush in the older man's cheeks, Severus continued his eavesdropping, now intrigued by the woman he had yet to lay eyes on.

"I'm sorry my dear," Albus replied, a smile easily heard in his voice, "I did not understand. Now, you two must be very tired after such a long trip from the states, why doesn't Remus show you to your rooms, and you can get a full tour tomorrow, hmm?"

Knowing he would no longer be intruding, Severus stood and stepped out into the entrance just in time to see the woman turn, her dark ash blonde hair sweeping over her shoulder, the defined curls bouncing perfectly, and he had caught just a glimpse of her light cerulean blue eyes, enough to make his breath catch in his throat and his heart stop. The man with her glanced at him and Severus could not quite place the emotion in the man's eyes, but took note of his age, close to Severus' surely, his build, short but muscular, and also the air of self-absorption that seemed to permeate from him. Smoothly, the man turned away, placing his hand on the small of the woman's back, and followed Remus up the stairs. Regaining his senses, Severus started up the steps after them but a hand on his shoulder made him turn.

"We should speak in my office, Severus. Come, let us have a cup of tea together, my boy," Albus all but whispered.

Hesitantly, reluctantly, Severus followed the man, glancing back to try and catch another glimpse of the woman, but she was out of sight.

------

Ignoring the lemon drops the man stubbornly offered every few minutes, Severus paced in front of the fireplace, impatiently awaiting Remus' return. As soon as he walked through the door, Severus stopped dead in his tracks and turned on the two men.

"Was it her?" Severus demanded angrily.

Albus glanced at Remus, who nodded, tears welling in his eyes. "I have no doubt."

Severus let out a soul-wrenching cry, and smashed his fist on to Albus' desk. "When were you planning on telling me! How dare you stop me from speaking to her, and how dare you not tell me –!"

"Stop it Severus," Albus demanded, his tone surprising the potions master and his grandson still by the door, the twinkle gone from his eyes. "They arrived before I could speak to you. And I wasn't sure what state she was in, I was not prepared… Unless she proves otherwise to us in the next few days, she seems to have no memories of her previous life. And I do not understand how she is now mute. All I actually know is that this Bryce Coleman is rumored by the American Wizarding Council to be well trained in the Dark Arts but an esteemed potions master and quidditch player of all things as well. However, it is unknown if his darker magical interests have ever made him forge an allegiance with any groups. The Americans believed he was a Death Eater for a long time, but neither they nor our own ministry have any evidence of his allegiance to anyone but himself. When he applied for our Flying Instructor position and I found out Kelyea was with him, I thought that accepting was better than perhaps allowing her to slip through our fingers again."

Silence descended upon the room. Remus finally moved from the door and collapsed in a chair, and Severus became vaguely aware that his right hand was beginning to ache from the impact against the wood. The three men, usually a driving force behind many actions over the last several years, were at a complete loss as to what to do.

"I'm sure she would have reacted in some way if she did have any kind of recollection of her previous life. I tried to judge their relationship as well as I might as I escorted them to their room and she seems very different… rather submissive to Mr. Coleman," Remus uttered, noticing Severus's flinch at the singular room, and the mild surprise at the change in Kelyea's character.

"Whether it is magic or no, we will have to be careful not to shock her into remembering anything. Coleman does not sound like any Death Eater I can recall, but there were so many in the final days that I admit I did not know many of the Outer Circle. As for his work in potions, he was close to a cure, or so he thought. I remember reading is preliminary findings many years ago; he had never gotten beyond the anthurium leaves, which when mixed with the wolfsbane proved promising in lab tests but no one knew how a human would react with the usually poisonous plant. That could explain the damage to her vocal cords if things went poorly. Any potions master would be able to fix that… unless he likes that she doesn't speak," Severus spat.

He was trying to get into a more analytical, tactical standpoint, but his emotions were getting the better of him. Taking a few deep breaths, he brought up another thought. "I do know American and French Sign Language thanks to a cousin of mine. I should be able to communicate with her well enough as it is one of the few foreign languages I have actually found somewhat interesting enough to maintain over the years. But she should probably stay out of the dungeons if possible. Even fumes of a memory potion… and I must make them for Madame Pomfrey."

What else could be said? They really had no idea what they were up against. A sigh from Dumbledore signaled another thought. "I don't wish to point this out any more than absolutely necessary, but whether we like it or not she is engaged to this man."

Severus winced again against the will of every fiber in his being, but he didn't say anything and Albus continued. "We don't know that bringing her memories back will change much in her life as it is now, but we can hope and pray. With your knowledge of sign language, I think we have good reason for you to be around her as much as possible Severus, which I understand will be difficult but may be our best chance. With that, I will see you both at dinner where we will formally introduce all the staff to our newcomers."

Reluctantly, Remus and Severus left the office, heading down the stairs towards the gargoyle. About halfway down, Remus stopped on the steps and looked up at Severus. "I got a bad feeling from that man she's with, Severus. I know we have had our differences over the years, but I hope we will be able to work together to save her. I think she needs our help whether she realizes it or not. And, I can't believe I'm saying this, I think she needs you."

Severus nodded sharply. "I give you my word that I will do everything in my power to not let her leave us again, Remus. Not again."

------

Minerva approached Severus and complimented him on his wand work in the Great Hall, along with Professors Flitwick and Sprout, but he only absently nodded and thanked them, his eyes carefully trained on the doors to the room. Finally, they swung open to reveal Albus, Bryce, and Kelyea. Kelly, he reminded himself. He forced himself to rise casually from the table as they approached, as did the others, to greet the "new" pair. Albus must have already spoken to the other staff members as they all seemed very casual for how awkward this critical moment really was. He almost frantically searched her face for any kind of recognition but found none, only a seemingly profound curiosity in this supposedly new environment. Finally, the three made it around the table to him. He shook Bryce's hand firmly, saying nothing. When Kely – Kelly introduced herself, Severus smoothly stopped Bryce from interpreting by casually asking vocally and with hand gestures how she preferred to carry a conversation. A beautiful smile graced her features, and Severus felt his cool demeanor falter. She quickly signed that it was refreshing to be able to just sign, as she rarely had the opportunity except with her fiancé. Again, Severus felt himself waver at this last, but he had not spent so many years as a double agent only to lose his control now. Resolutely, he replied by signing that they should take the opportunity to have tea sometime then.

That stunning smile had never left her face and she agreed happily before taking a seat at the table. Severus, Albus, and Bryce all took seats as well, the last sitting to Kelly's left and eyeing Severus suspiciously, especially as Severus took Kelly's right. The smirk did not leave the potions master's face, content that he had at least caused the man some discomfort and confusion. Halfway through the meal, a tap came at Severus' shoulder and he glanced to his left to see Kelly still smiling brightly.

"Where did you learn to sign?" she signaled excitedly.

Severus briefly touched his chest with his right hand then raised it in the shape of a C and shook it by his head. "My cousin. She's deaf, and spent much time in the United States."

"You're very good. Bryce tells me you are a Potions Master like he is. I love potions, though I'm told they are at the root of my situation."

"Situation?"

"I have little memory of anything before twenty years ago, and I used to be able to speak. Bryce has tried to tell me as much as he could. He has given me the only life I know."

Ignoring the pull at his heartstrings, Severus continued to sign. "You are lucky, then. To have someone who cares for you so much."

She seemed to hesitate, those cerulean blue eyes looking through him rather than at him for a moment. "Yes. I guess I am."

Turning back to her food, this apparently ended their conversation and Severus contemplated the last of it. Perhaps everything was not a paradise, as Remus had said he suspected already, and perhaps things might be able to move a little faster than they had anticipated. He prayed so. Sitting so close to her, not able to reach out and touch her, run his fingers through those springy curls, or even whisper "I love you" was antagonizing. It had been so long. Now she was here again, after everything they had been through, and after how they had parted from each other. Severus suddenly was very aware of cool metal against his skin, his focus shifting to the ring she had left in a jewelry box on her dresser, now hanging around his neck on a chain with the ring she had once given him.

Dinner wound down, and the professors began to disperse. Bryce rose and whispered something in Kelly's ear. She stood as well, and turned to Severus.

"It was a pleasure to meet you. Have a good night."

Before he could reply, she was walking away. He didn't get the chance to ask again about tea.