Thirteen

A/N: I just finished chapter 22 this morning. I've quite close to the end, I think. Only some fun, juicy bits left. ;) I'll keep up with the daily updates. You know, I've had such fun writing this, I'm considering de-Pottervesing it and publishing it as a bit of erotica. I'd have to do it under a pseudonym though. I've got a couple of children's books out under my name, and while I enjoy writing more than one genre, I don't want to mix erotica into it. I haven't decided for certain if I will do it. Wouldn't mind hearing what my readers think of the idea.

Smooches to my awesome readers, and big sloppy kisses to those who choose to review. No beta- so any mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: They are not mine; I only take them out to play.

*******

He stumbled when they appeared at the gates of Hogwarts, and then stood goggling at the gigantic castle before him as she helped him catch his balance. She let him look his fill, watched him as he strove for some sort of mental equilibrium.

"All right, Steven?"

"I strongly suspect that I have run completely mad, but other than that I am fine."

Well, she hadn't splinched them at least. While she knew doing a side along was difficult at the best of times, she simply hadn't been able to bear the thought of being apart from him. He'd nearly been killed. It was impossible for her not to touch him, look at him, and prove to herself that he remained very much alive.

Harry, Poppy, and Minerva popped into being near them.

"Let him take his time," Poppy advised, "and float him if you have to. We'll be in the infirmary."

Hermione put an arm around Steven's waist and supported him as they slowly walked up the path to the main gates. He stared at everything, from the castle towers, to a ripple on the water of the lake as a large tentacle broke the surface, to the swishing limbs of the Whomping Willow.

About halfway to the castle, he paused, tugging Hermione to stop beside him.

"What is this place, pet? Where are we?"

"It's a school, love. A school for children to learn magic. We're in Scotland."

"In the blink of an eye, we've gone from London to Scotland." He snorted softly and shook his head. "And this is a school for magic. A place, I take it, where you went to school."

"Yes."

"So, if I was your teacher, then I must have taught at this place. I must have been some sort of magician."

"A wizard. Yes, Steven, you were a wizard before you lost your memory."

"I find that difficult to believe."

"Steven, have you ever had odd things happen around you when you were angry or upset?"

"I suppose so. Seems like anytime I get angry, one of those bloody fluorescent tubes explodes."

"That's your magic, Steven." She placed a hand against his chest over his heart. "The magic is inside you. You've forgotten it, but it's still there, dormant, powerful. Escaping in little bursts when you have strong emotions."

"What happened to me, Hermione? How did I end up alone in that hospital?"

"There was a war, Steven. A fight against a vicious dark wizard. You were a spy in his circle, working to bring about his defeat. It was very dangerous. At the last battle, the dark wizard was ended for good. You were badly hurt, but we couldn't find you anywhere. Until I ran into you on the street, we all believed you dead."

That seemed to satisfy his curiosity for the moment and they continued their walk to the castle.

Once in the infirmary, Poppy directed him to one of the beds. Hermione sat in a chair she pulled up to the bed and held his hand tightly in one of her own. Steven balked briefly at Poppy pointing a wand at his head, but Hermione reassured him that Poppy meant him no harm, and he allowed her to run her diagnostics.

"Good," Poppy said after she read the ticker tape that flowed from her wand. "Nothing a little rest won't cure."

Poppy went to a cabinet and returned with a vial made of blue glass. Steven looked at it with suspicion, but Hermione assured him it was all right. Drinking it down with a grimace, he closed his eyes and slept.

"There's something here I need to check," the kind mediwitch muttered and then hurried away in a flurry of robes.

Harry pulled a chair up next to Hermione, and for a time they sat watching Steven sleep.

They were roused from this pursuit by Ginny bursting into the infirmary and rushing over to them.

"Did you get him to the Aurors all right?" Harry asked.

Hermione interrupted before Ginny could reply. "Didn't you kill him, Harry? I really wanted you to kill him. I would have done it myself, but I was busy."

"No, Hermione, I didn't kill him. I hexed the shit out of him and then bound him. He was still shouting about how he was going to kill Severus before I gagged him. He was drunk and furious. I called Ginny to take him to be arrested, and then went to find you."

"Should have killed him," Hermione muttered.

"I took him to the Aurors, Harry, but they charged him with magical mishap. Said he was an Auror, and a war hero, and never would have tried to kill a Muggle on purpose. I couldn't tell them it really was Snape."

"What?" Hermione shouted.

"Damn it," Harry hissed. "Aurors closing ranks, protecting their own. It's an ongoing problem. I'll see what I can do tomorrow, but the truth of the matter is that he'll probably be released in a few days."

"Well, if you don't want him dead, you'd better convince him to stay away from me. The next time I see him, I'm drawing my wand."

Ginny patted her shoulder. "He's my brother, and I love him, but I don't blame you. He hasn't been acting right since you two broke up. And now he's gone and tried to murder someone. I don't understand what's wrong with him."

"Neither do I, Gin," Harry agreed. "He's been like a stranger."

Poppy and Minerva returned to Steven's bedside. Hermione sat up straighter when she saw the witches' serious faces.

"We know why he lost his memory." Poppy still held the tape from her wand. "I had to check a few arithmancy figures because I didn't understand what I was looking at. It says that Severus has suffered an Occlumency mishap."

"What do we do about it? How do we fix it?" Hermione asked.

"I have no idea," Poppy said, shaking her head. "There's no medical way to heal him. I only know one living person who is a skilled Occlumens, and he's lying in that bed."

"Harry?" Hermione looked at her friend.

"No, Hermione. I never was any good at it. And it might take a Legilimens to get in there and see what's happening. I have no idea how to do that with any skill."

"Draco," Ginny muttered to herself.

"What?" Noticing she was holding Steven's hand too tightly again, Hermione loosened her fingers.

"Draco Malfoy is an Occlumens. His crazy aunt Bella taught him. Percy used to talk to him after the war, you know, when they were trying to figure out whether to charge him or not."

"But would he help us?" Harry asked, sounding doubtful.

"He'd never help us," Hermione said with a snort. "But he'd help Severus."

"I'd best go find him then. Come with me, Gin. Maybe if you're there, he won't go straight for his wand when he sees me."

***

Hermione didn't know how long had passed when a hand on her shoulder gently shook her awake. She opened her eyes blearily, her shoulders and neck cramped and painful, to find that she had been sleeping in the chair, head and shoulders slumped forward to rest on the bed where Steven lay sleeping. His hand remained tightly clamped in her own.

"Hermione," Poppy said softly, "you need to get some rest. Why don't you take the bed next to his?"

"I won't leave him," she hissed quietly.

"Well, tuck yourself into the bed with him then. His wounds are healed, you won't hurt him. He only needs a little more sleep, and so do you by the look of it."

The kind woman walked away, and Hermione quickly took her advice. Slipping gently onto the bed next to Steven, she threw an arm over his waist, cuddled tightly against his side, and sleep dragged her back into its thrall.

***

She woke the second time slowly, reluctant to give up the warmth she felt around herself. She heard murmured voices but paid them no mind. She was lying on her side and Steven was spooned tightly against her back. One of his thighs was thrown over both her legs and his arm was a tight band around her waist, his hand reaching up so that it was settled cozily between her breasts.

"You might have warned me," muttered Draco Malfoy. "I had no idea they were this good of friends."

"Shhh, you prat," Ginny whispered. "They look so tired. Let them sleep."

"By all means, do shut the fuck up," Steven growled. "Let the poor woman rest."

She could feel his voice rumbling against her back and she snuggled closer to him.

"Merlin, it sounds exactly like him," Draco said softly. "Are you certain he doesn't remember?"

"He doesn't remember anything," Hermione said, opening her eyes and giving up on sleeping any longer.

Sunlight shone through the windows in the infirmary. It was well into the morning then, if not early afternoon. Much as she enjoyed her present position, she'd rather not do so in front of an audience that consisted of Ginny, Harry, and Draco Malfoy.

Turning in Steven's embrace, she gave him a quick kiss on the end of his nose. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he returned, his voice deep and gravelly from sleep. He stared at her mouth a moment, but then glanced at the three people standing at the foot of the bed. "Bloody inconvenient."

She giggled at that, then kissed his nose again and unwound herself from his embrace. "I need the loo. Be right back."

When she returned, Steven was sitting up against the headboard of the bed while the others sat in chairs around him, talking quietly.

"It won't hurt, Severus," Draco was saying with some feeling. "It's the only way I can find out what's been done to you. You can trust me."

By the small scowl on Steven's face, she could see that the man didn't trust the blond wizard speaking to him at all. Steven's eyes lifted to hers, and the scowl dissolved, a soft smile brightening his features.

As she sat near him and took his hand again, he spoke, "They've been explaining to me about this mind reading thing. I can't say as I much like the idea of that young man rattling around in my head. What do you think?"

"I think," she replied with a small sigh, "that you should let him try."

"You don't sound very certain."

"Steven, you know how I told you that when you were my teacher, we couldn't really stand each other?" At his nod, she continued. "Well, Draco and I hated each other with a fierce and burning passion while we were at school. To this day, I don't like him especially, though I no longer hate him. That said, you and he were close...you cared for each other. No, I don't much like him, but I know damned well he'd never do anything on purpose to hurt you."

When she glanced at Malfoy, she found his expression almost friendly.

"Thanks, Granger."

She shrugged. "We aren't children anymore."

"Oh, all right." Steven scowled slightly again, but he seemed resigned. "Do your worst."

Draco sat primly on the edge of the bed, wand in hand. "You'll have to let go of his hand for a minute, Granger."

When she reluctantly complied, Draco leaned over to gaze into Steven's eyes.

"Legilimens," he murmured. "No, Severus, don't fight me...let me in...like I give a weasel's arse what Granger's knickers look like. Oh, I see. We're friends, Severus, and I'm trying to help you. Don't worry about that stuff...just relax."

Steven did relax then, and the expression in Draco's eyes sharpened as he gazed through the black eyes and into the mind beyond for long moments.

Finally, he leaned back, breaking the spell's connection. He squeezed Steven's shoulder firmly and said, "See? That wasn't so bad."

Steven rolled his eyes with a huff of breath.

"Do you know what's happened to him?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I think so, but I need some information. I know Severus was left for dead in the Shack, but what exactly happened?"

"We've been afraid to say too much in front of him," Harry said. "The healers at St. Mungo's told me that trying to force him to remember could have dire consequences."

"No, you don't have to worry about that. Believe me, nothing you say is going to get him to remember anything."

Hermione began explaining the incident in the Shrieking Shack. When she got to the point where the snake had attacked Severus, her voice broke, and Harry continued the narrative. Steven reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

"I don't know exactly what happened after we left the room," Harry admitted. "I only know his body disappeared."

Hermione had calmed enough to find her voice. "He tried to apparate, but he was so near death that it didn't go well. He ended up outside a Muggle hospital."

"That makes sense," Draco mused, steepling his fingers and pressing them briefly against his lips as he thought for a moment. "He was desperately trying to get Harry to Voldemort, as Dumbledore had instructed him, so that the final engagement could take place. He had to have Occluded greatly for Voldemort not to have read this plan from his mind. Couple that with his determination to give Harry only the memories he had to, instead of dumping his whole life out of his head, and then a botched apparition attempt. Yes, it makes sense."

"Is he in there at all, Draco?" Hermione asked, her anxiety making her voice a little high and squeaky. "Please, tell me it isn't hopeless."

"Oh, he's in there all right. He's Occluded himself right into a nice, neat little box. Hidden his entire being right away. Unreachable by Voldemort, unreachable by his own self. Trapped in a little pocket of his mind."