The World Has Changed

Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to read this and review so far. I hope you continue to enjoy this. When I started posting I hadn't figured out any real plot, but I've come up with something that I hope you all find interesting.

I have to apologize first though, but my computer here at work is acting funky, so I may have to come back later and fix a few things as far as characters and genres.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

As always, a huge thanks to June for her beta work.

The World Has Changed.

Severus spent the better part of that afternoon sleeping. When he finally woke up, he heard a conversation going on in the next room. He slowly stood and began to walk shakily out of his bedroom. He was able to stand and walk thanks in part to the potions he'd been given but also the exercising and massaging of his muscles, which Poppy had faithfully performed for ten years. As he approached the living room he heard the voices and what they were saying more clearly.

"I can't even imagine how he will take all of this in," said Minerva.

"It will be quite a shock to him. But, I imagine some things will be welcome," added Poppy.

"If only he'd been able to hear us all this time," said the voice of a young woman. Severus deduced it was the young woman he'd seen standing next to Albus and Minerva earlier. "It's just been so long."

Before anyone else could say anything, Severus emerged from the hallway. They all looked his way.

"Severus," Albus said as he rose from his spot on the couch and rushed towards Severus. "You really shouldn't be walking about like this."

Severus waved his hand.

"Albus, I'm fine." His voice was still slightly hoarse. "I just need to move around a bit. I feel as though I've been sedentary too long." Severus didn't notice the worried looks exchanged by the others in the room.

"Severus, you said earlier, 'He knows.' I'm assuming you were speaking of Voldemort," said Albus.

"As evidenced by the state in which I was found, you can probably guess that the Dark Lord is aware of my duplicity." Severus rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "I am afraid that I am no longer useful to the Order."

"Professor, perhaps you should sit down," said Hermione.

Severus looked at her. He studied her face. She looked familiar but he didn't quite know where he had seen her before.

"As I said before, Miss..."

Hermione looked toward Albus. The old man bowed his head and rubbed his forehead. Hermione looked back to Severus.

"Granger, sir."

Severus blinked, and cocked his head.

"Granger?" He looked to Albus. "I had no idea that Hermione Granger had a relative here."

"She doesn't, sir. It's me...I'm Hermione Granger."

Severus felt as though a bucket of ice water had fallen on his head. He looked at everyone in the room, and then backed himself into a chair that happened to be behind him. He fell heavily on the chair and buried his face in his hands. He could feel his heart beat faster as he began to wonder if it was possible that he was in some other realm of consciousness. Could it be that he was still asleep and this was just a dream? He shook his head as he realized this was too vivid to be a dream. He lifted his head and looked around the room once again. He studied the young woman. He remembered Hermione Granger when he last saw her, as a sixth year student. She hardly looked like the woman he saw in front of him now. 'No,' he thought, 'this can't be.'

"How...how long have I been asleep?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Albus sighed heavily, "Ten years."

Severus leaned forward and held his head in his hands. He willed himself to stay calm. He'd been asleep for ten years! But he really hadn't been sleeping, not really.

"Severus, when Hagrid found you that day in the woods, you were beaten very badly," Poppy said gently. "I mended your broken bones and checked you for further internal damage. I saw then that there was a curse placed on you. I think you may have woken up now because it has taken all these years for its properties to wear off." Poppy had spent two years researching possible causes and cures for Severus' condition. Much of what she learned made her conclude that whatever curse had been placed on Severus, if it was the work of Voldemort, then with the death of the caster, the curse itself would slowly wear off. Voldemort was a powerful wizard. It was no surprise that it had taken the dark-haired wizard ten years to finally wake up.

"I still don't really know what kind of a curse it was other than it was a dark curse, and most probably something Voldemort placed on you," the medi-witch further added.

"I don't even remember escaping from him," said Severus. In fact, he hadn't really escaped that day; Voldemort ordered Wormtail to take Severus to the Forbidden Forest. Instead of leaving him deep within the forest where his body would never be found, the stupid rat-like wizard dropped him off close to the edge of the forest and thus saved Severus' life, without even realizing it.

"Severus, how do you feel?" asked Minerva. "Physically...that is."

Severus looked down at himself. He had to admit, for someone being almost dead to the world for the last ten years, he felt and seemed to look rather well.

"I feel tired, but for the most part I feel fine." Severus stood and stared into the fireplace. He looked down at his left arm and began to roll up his sleeve. He held his breath until he saw what he'd hoped to see. His Dark Mark was still there, but it was faded. It looked like what Muggles might describe as a watermark. He quickly turned, looking hopeful.

"Yes, Severus," Albus said with a nod. "He is gone. Five months after we found you, Harry and I along with the rest of the Order rid the world of his poison."

"And...what of Lucius?" Severus hoped his friend was still alive.

"Lucius is alive. He'll be very happy to know that you are awake, sir," said Hermione happily.

"If I might ask, Miss Granger, what is your role here?" While he found himself appreciating her beauty, he still thought of her as a child and therefore saw that she had no place in his rooms or the present conversation.

"I teach potions, sir. I'm...I'm a Potions Mistress," said Hermione proudly.

Severus arched a brow. He stared at Hermione for several moments. His former student had grown up to be a Potions Mistress and taken over his position. He'd have to talk to Albus about that. He wanted his job back. Then again, this might be the opportunity to get the job he's always really wanted. He decided his current thoughts could wait. He needed to know what else he'd missed.

"Harry and Draco are both Aurors. Ron, well...he didn't do very well during the final battle. He received a bad blow to the head and lost some of his mental faculties," said Hermione, trying to enlighten her former professor as to what her friends were doing.

'Weasley has lost some of his mental faculties? How did anyone even notice the difference?' thought Severus.

"The Dark Lord dead, you Miss Granger now the Potions professor, Potter and Draco Aurors." Severus looked towards Albus once again. "Good lord, Neville Longbottom isn't the Minister of Magic, is he? I may just go back to sleep for another ten years if he is."

Albus chuckled. "No, Severus that won't be necessary. Arthur is the Minister of Magic."

While Albus seemed amused by Severus' comment, he didn't realize that his former Potions professor was serious. Severus knew he would have to keep an open mind in the days and weeks to come. The world had changed quite a bit.

'This is going to take some getting used to,' thought Severus as he started to make his way to the bathroom, which he realized he needed to use very badly.

"If you will all excuse me, I think I would like to use the loo and take a very long hot shower."

Everyone in the room knew that this was their cue to leave. They understood that Severus most probably wanted some time alone with his thoughts.

"Of course, Severus." As Albus stood to leave, Severus caught him by the arm.

"Albus, how was my absence explained all these years?" asked Severus.

"You were left for dead in the Forbidden Forest, so we felt it best to let Tom believe he'd won so that he wouldn't seek you out, but after the final battle, you were no longer in danger. After our victory over Voldemort, we thought it best to tell the rest of the population the truth of what happened to you." Albus patted Severus on the shoulder. "You may not have actually been in that battle, Severus, but your work for the Order helped us win in the end. Your presence was certainly felt there on that battlefield. You deserved just as much praise as those who were physically there. You now have a very good reputation as a war hero. I am certain that many will be curious about the curse you were under at the beginning, but things will die down and you can live your life just as you always did."

Albus smiled and left him alone.

Severus didn't like being the center of attention. While he'd always wanted the recognition he deserved for all of his years of sacrifices, he never wanted people pointing at him or following him around like a celebrity. He shook his head and hoped that he would be able to just blend into the rest of society, like he always had.

He took a long shower and walked out of his bathroom in his robe. He had plenty of time before dinner. He decided to make his first appearance in public in ten years, but before that a nap was in order. He lay down on his bed and began to drift away wondering what the next few days would bring.

Severus fell asleep within minutes of lying down. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he looked around his room. He sat up cautiously and slowly got out of bed, and then walked to the large mirror that stood against the wall of his bedroom. Severus stripped off his robe and stood in front of the mirror admiring his form. He was thin, but well built. His muscles hadn't dissipated during his sedentary ten years. He looked at his flaccid penis and cocked his head; he was large, very large. He smirked, then looked at his face in the mirror. He raised his hand slowly and touched his image then began to chuckle.

His quiet chuckle slowly turned into a maniacal sounding eerie laugh as his hand quickly withdrew from the mirror's surface. He took a step towards the mirror.

"All this time, and they never knew," he said as he smiled into the mirror. "Oh, Severus, I am going to enjoy being you so very much."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I want to address the easiness some of the characters have in now saying Voldemort. I'm thinking since he was taken out of commission for what seemed for good, people felt they no longer needed to fear him or his name.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.