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Innocence Found by sarabella76 [Reviews - 6]

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He sat up quickly, his breath ragged. His eyes darted around, searching the unfamiliar surroundings. He lay in a queen-size bed in the midst of a modest bedroom. Though windowless and dark, the room had an air of familiarity and comfort that Severus could not explain. It was sparsely furnished with a plush armchair and a large, full bookcase. Various bottles were strewn across an old dresser and a flowery dressing gown lay crumpled at the foot of the bed. He rose and began examining the bottles on the dresser. He caught a familiar scent of lilac from a bottle he assumed to hold perfume.

Severus sat on the edge of the bed. Where am I? he thought. He tried desperately to remember something, anything, but his mind was blank. He remembered nothing, not even who he was. He gulped for air and tried to slow his racing heart. This is preposterous, he thought. I have to remember something! But nothing appeared in his mind's eye except a pair of chilling red eyes.

A chair scraped across the floor in another room. Severus jumped up. Is someone else here? He crossed the room on shaky legs and pressed his ear to the door. His heart skipped a beat as he heard a cup clank on the table. He stood frozen for what seemed like an eternity, listening and wondering who or what occupied the next room.

With a growing sense of dread, Severus searched the room for something to wear. In the closet, he found rows and rows of carefully hung long robes. On one side of the closet were robes of every color imaginable, while the other side consisted of only black, except for one set of robes in dark green. Severus wondered about the strange clothing, but seeing no other options available, he hastily threw on a set of black robes. He found some black socks adorned with a silver “S” and pulled on a pair of black boots over them.

Finally, he swallowed the lump in his throat and cautiously opened the door of the bedroom. He crept down a narrow hallway, following the sound of a rustling newspaper. He only hoped he would not see those red eyes as he turned the corner.

He walked into a small kitchen. The sink was piled full of dishes; the countertops were littered with bread crumbs and candy wrappers; a tiny kitchen table stood in the middle of the room upon a worn wooden floor. A woman with long, dark hair was sitting at the table with her back to him, drinking a cup of tea and reading a newspaper. Severus gazed over her shoulder and gasped. The people in the photograph on the front page were moving!

The woman turned around and glared at him. She was very pretty, with dark eyes and olive skin. Her lips were full and rosy and must have had the capacity for a truly charming smile, but were presently turned down in an impatient frown.

"You know I hate when you read over my shoulder!" she snapped.

Severus gaped at her. Who was this woman? He unconsciously looked down at her long, slender fingers. On her left hand was a gold ring containing a small pear-shaped diamond. Instinctively, he looked at his own left hand. He wore a simple gold band on his left ring finger. What the--? As Severus struggled to make sense out of this recent development, he suddenly realized the woman was staring at him.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded. Her dark eyes narrowed, searching his.

Severus averted his gaze. "Er..." he stammered.

She turned back to her newspaper. "Well, it's almost noon. I assumed you were going to sleep all day so you can find your own lunch. I've eaten."

Severus walked over to the table and sat down in the chair in front of her. He took the newspaper from her hands and lowered it from her face. She glared at him impatiently.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked.

She snatched the newspaper from him. "You are not funny. And I am still waiting for an apology for last night."

He stared at her in confusion, desperately wishing he had the faintest idea as to what she was on about.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What’s going on?” she asked slowly.

He clutched the roots of his hair and stared at the table. Why can't I remember? He jumped up from the table, feeling a sudden, urgent need for fresh air. "I have to go,” he said, rushing from the room.

"Where are you going?" she shouted after him, but he was already gone.

He found himself not outside, but in what appeared to be a dungeon. It was dark and dank and dimly lit with dozens of candles whose light cast eerie shadows on the walls. Severus shivered and pulled his black robes tightly around him. His mind was racing and he was finding it extremely difficult to breathe.

He collapsed against the dungeon wall and pressed his palms against his eyes. What was happening? Why couldn’t he remember anything? And who was that woman in the kitchen? He racked his brain but could come up with nothing: his mind was completely blank.

He felt panic begin to set in and decided he needed to walk, to find a way out of the shadowy, damp dungeon. As he began to make his way down the narrow corridor he felt a sense of purpose envelop him. Somehow, searching for the exit comforted him by giving him something to do other than worrying about his present situation. He walked on, determinedly following the corridor of the dungeon for what seemed like miles before reaching a set of stairs.

He climbed the stone steps for what seemed like ages before finally reaching the top. Cautiously, he pulled open the large, heavy door leading out of the dungeons and wandered into an enormous entrance hall. The ceiling reached higher than Severus could see and above him stood four massive hourglasses, each filled with its own gemstone. To his left was a broad marble staircase that led to what Severus assumed was the second level. He peered up the stairs and noticed dozens of other staircases leading to additional levels. He wondered how many floors this building contained and what he was doing in such a place.

Severus turned around and spotted a set of gigantic oak doors directly in front of him. He was rushing toward the doors, anticipating freedom, when a voice to his left stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Professor Snape!"

Severus froze. Is he talking to me? A tiny man with a squeaky voice gestured to him from an immense room that resembled a cathedral.

Severus entered cautiously, surveying his surroundings. He gazed up at the ceiling, which was not a ceiling at all, but a bright blue sky scattered with puffy white clouds. Directly above him, hundreds of candles were suspended in mid air. Sunlight poured through floor-length windows that lined the sides of the room.

The immense chamber currently contained only one long table that seated two women in long flowing robes and an old man with a long silver beard and twinkling blue eyes. Severus stared at the old man. Those eyes seemed to know more than they should.

"Come on in and join us," said man with the squeaky voice. "We've only just begun our lunch."

The tiny man led Severus to the table and motioned for him to sit down. Severus stood rooted in his spot in front of the table. He stared at the strangers seated there, wondering how he was supposed to know them.

"Please sit," said the old man. His blue eyes danced as he smiled warmly at Severus. He studied Severus for a moment, and then suddenly the old man's eyes narrowed.

He knows, Severus thought.

"Minerva, Filius, Poppy, will you please excuse us?" the old man said. "Professor Snape and I need to take a walk."

He rose and gestured toward the door. Severus followed dumbly. The old man led him outside through the oak doors that Severus had spotted earlier. As they walked through the castle grounds, the summer sun beat down on Severus’ face and a slight breeze ruffled his robes. Beams of light danced across the waters as Severus stared out across a large black lake. He breathed deeply and attempted to calm himself.

"Tell me what has happened," the old man said simply.

Severus fixed his gaze on a flock of birds circling the lake. Something about this man told him that he was trustworthy, yet what was he to say? All he knew was that he remembered nothing and he was apparently married.

"I don't know," Severus began. "I woke up today and found a woman in my kitchen. I think she is my wife, but I don't remember her. I don't know who I am or who you are. I don't even know where I am. Do I live here? And why am I seeing things?"

The old man raised his eyebrows. "Seeing things?"

Severus looked away, scowling. "I saw people moving in a photograph in the newspaper."

The old man chuckled. "Oh," he said calmly.

Severus glared at him. "I want to know what is going on!" he shouted.

The old man smiled. "That I do not know," he said, "but I can tell you who you are and who that woman is if you would like."

Severus nodded, grateful to be getting some answers.

"Come; sit down,” the old man said, gesturing to a small white bench. Severus sat down and stared down at his hands.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," he said. "I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"School of what?" Severus choked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning. You are Severus Snape. You are a wizard. An extremely talented wizard, in fact. You have been working for me for about fifteen years. At Hogwarts we train young witches and wizards and you are one of our professors."

"What do I teach?" asked Severus, fearing the answer.

"You are our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Severus swallowed with difficulty, but said nothing.

Dumbledore continued, "You are also Head of Slytherin House." He stopped suddenly, apparently realizing Severus had no idea what Slytherin House was. He then began to tell Severus about the Hogwarts founders, a talking hat that sorted students into each of the four Houses, the points system, the House Cup-

"Stop!" Severus shouted. His mind was swimming. He did not care about talking hats or Griffin-somethings and slitherings. He wanted to know about the woman. "How long have I been married?" he demanded.

"Less than a year, actually," said Dumbledore. "Her name is Camilla."

"Camilla," Severus repeated, searching for any remembrance of the name. He shook his head. "I don't remember her."

"You will," said Dumbledore. "In time, I believe you will remember all. But, for now you must go to your wife."

Severus swallowed. "I don't think I can do that. I don't even know her."

"Yet she knows you. No one knows you better than she, and no one else can bring you back."

* * *


Severus paused outside the door to his rooms. He inhaled and slowly pushed open the door.



A/N: Many thanks to the talented LariLee for beta reading for me!



Innocence Found by sarabella76 [Reviews - 6]

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