James Potter woke with a start and memories flooded into his head. Memories of his childhood, memories of school and memories of a redhead and a boy who looked remarkably like him save for his emerald colored eyes.

All these years in a loony bin, he thought, and I get them back now. James shook his head and realized that he had to figure out how to contact Dumbledore. It wouldn't be easy. Wasn't it just yesterday that the nurses were talking about how he could very well never get his memories back, and probably never would? James tried to think about what had triggered the memories.

St. Luke's, his home for the last nine years, or rather, the only time he had remembered until now. Having lost memories of all but his name, James Potter was sent there for memory recovery. All he knew about his life before St. Luke's was what the nurses had been able to tell him (it wasn't much at all) and what he speculated. That didn't mean any of it was right, of course.

All he could think of was the only thing he remembered from his dream: a blinding green flash. He mused to himself about how like the killing curse that flash had been. He also thought it was funny that he could remember Dumbledore's name but the red haired woman and the boy, who he assumed was their son by the boy's appearance, remained nameless in his mind.

James was mulling over these thoughts when he checked out that morning to go to work. James, despite lacking memory of the majority of his life, was fully functioning and deemed not a threat to society as a whole so he was allowed to work. His friends, for James Potter made friends wherever he went, all asked him if the world was still the same as when he left it. He could never answer them properly.

Just then, James had the celerity to call in and tell his boss that he needed the day off. James rarely asked for things like this and when he did it was usually to go out and have a fun day. The nurses didn't mind when he did this as he had a cell phone and he wasn't a threat considering the only thing wrong with him was his missing memory.

James apparated to the Hog's Head after going down a deserted alleyway. Once there, he was greeted gruffly by Aberforth Dumbledore who said something about it being too early in the morning to be in his pub.

"Good to see you again, Aberforth!" James greeted warmly.

"James Potter?" Aberforth asked squinting. "You look too old to be Harry…" James wondered briefly who Harry was but didn't have much time to mull over it. "You're supposed to be dead, you know."

"I'm fully alive and functioning. I lost my memory for-- goodness, how long has it been?" James smiled broadly and fell into one of his school boy habits by ruffling his hair.

"Oh, it's you all right," Aberforth remarked when he saw that. "And it'll be fifteen years this Halloween."

"Can I borrow your Floo to visit your brother?" James implored.

"Of course, run right to Albus," Aberforth muttered sulkily.

"Sorry Aberforth. I always liked you better, if it helps." James shot the old man a winning smile which he rolled his eyes at. The younger man stepped into the Floo and let himself be whisked away to Albus Dumbldore's office.

"Merlin, you're alive," Albus Dumbledore breathed when James stepped out of the fireplace.

"Somehow I get the feeling you knew," James replied dryly. "I see you still have the same two chairs in here." James sunk into the one that he had often sat in as a boy.

"I'm afraid I can't get the details right away but Severus should be here any moment for tea." Albus smiled apologetically and then sat down at his desk. "You don't mind, do you?"

"May I inquire as to why you have tea with Sanpe?" James asked levelly.

"He's my Potions Master and I like to keep up to date on my staff's lives." Dumbledore smiled calmly and looked at James through his spectacles. Just then there was a knock at the office door. "Come in," Dumbledore called good-naturedly.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor," Snape said as he swooped in. James couldn't help but notice that he looked more like a bat than ever.

"Two minutes is hardly late, Severus," Albus replied.

"I thought you were dead," Severus remarked scowling upon seeing James sitting in the office.

"Afraid not, Sev," James said tauntingly. James suddenly felt the weight of hundreds of memories rushing back into his head. All of the memories concerned Severus. Some were good; some were bad. Mostly they just made James want to hug Severus.

"What's with that look, Potter?" Snape growled.

"Memories. It hurts," was all James could manage. The sudden onslaught of memories had left him with a massive headache.

"I'll call Poppy here at once. Severus, could you take a look at his memories?" Everything was fuzzy and James could feel himself wanting to fall asleep. Maybe it was better when the memories came because of a dream. Soon though, he felt a calming presence in his mind and identified it as Severus.

Too soon, Severus left his mind and James could feel the memories crushing him again. "He seems to be suffering from amnesia, sir," Severus remarked. "He's memories are spotty at best. He can remember the Order and certain things from school but he can't remember who his friends or Lily are."

"And Harry?"

"Brief glimpses of him. Nothing more."

Just then, Poppy Pomfrey stepped through the gate. Upon realizing who was on the floor clutching his head, she fainted. After Severus ennervated her she got to work checking James out.

"He seems to be bombarded by his missing memories. After living without them for so long, he's having trouble coping with their recent recovery. Other than that, his body is perfectly healthy. He's been well taken care of these past fifteen years." Poppy then fed James a headache potion and he felt enormously better.

"Haven't had proper healing in years," James muttered tiredly. Dumbledore and Pomfrey gave him questioning looks.

"He's been in muggle care since the incident," Snape informed them. "A muggle hospital where they keep mental cases."

"How much of his memory was he missing when living with the muggles?" Dumbledore looked a touch worried about the Statute of Secrecy being breached.

"I didn't remember a damn thing," James muttered. "Well, except my name. Just my name." He then promptly fell asleep.

"Where will he stay?" Severus asked once he was confident the stag animagus couldn't hear him.

"Are you concerned about him, Severus?" The headmaster's eyes twinkled as if he already knew the answer.''

"What does it matter if I'm concerned or not?" Snape asked dejectedly.

"I know what you two shared," Dumbledore replied.

"That's what set off the headache," Snape replied. "He remembered everything about me and was overwhelmed by the sheer mass of memories. Just think what would happen if he saw Black."

"But he won't," Dumbledore replied sadly. Then, he rubbed his hands together. "Tell me, where is this muggle facility. I need to make sure James is not missed."

"Welcome to Saint Luke's! How may I help you?" A bottle blonde nurse greeted the two wizards (she didn't know they were wizards) in front of her.

"I'm here to inquire after one James Potter," Dumbledore replied.

"I'm sorry, he's at work right now," the girl replied sadly.

"I'm right here, Cindy," James said and entered the building. "Professor! Good to see you!" James shook hands jovially with Dumbledore.

"Who are these men, James?" Cindy asked and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Snape bristled with jealousy when he realized she was flirting with him.

"The one with the beard is Professor Dumbledore and the one in all black is Severus Snape." James smiled.

"Has your memory come back?" Another nurse asked as she came in.

"Yep!" James replied.

Then how do you know these men?" the woman tested him. Severus and I went to school together and Dumbledore was one of our Professors," James replied with ease.

"Your birthday?"

"March 27, 1960," James replied automatically.

"We're here, ma'am, to take him into our custody. We feel that he'd be better off remembering everything by being around people and places from his past," Dumbledore put in smoothly.

"I'll need to see his papers," the woman replied.

"Papers?" James and Severus asked in tandem and they shot annoyed looks at each other.

"Birth records, health care, that sort of thing," Cindy replied as if it was the only thing she was good at. "Do you want me to get our records, Meg?" When the other nurse, presumably Meg, nodded, Cindy got up and went to a small office behind the desk.

Dumbledore, who was wearing his robes, reached into his breast pocket and pulled out James' information. Severus, James noted, looked quite odd in muggle clothing. The Potions Master was wearing a black button up shirt and black trousers. Everything about him was, as usual, black.

"Interesting clothing," Meg remarked to Dumbledore. James was shifting restlessly hoping this would be over soon and that he could get his things and say goodbye to his friends here. Severus, who couldn't stand the fidgeting, placed a hand on James arm to still him. Meg noticed, despite the lack of fidgeting after Severus had calmed him, that James was restless.

"James, why don't you go gather your things. From what I can see, everything here looks legitimate." Meg smiled at James who nodded and went off to gather his things and tell his friends good bye.

After he was out of earshot, Meg decided to comment on the documents. "There are a few inconsistencies in our information. For one, James has never mentioned a spouse or child of any kind yet you have significant proof that he was married to one Lily Evans and is father to one Harry Potter. Others include his birth date and many more. I suppose it's to be expected considering he knew so little of himself and he has such a common name." The nurse sifted through the information and Cindy came back.

"Here ya go!" Severus noticed that she had a distinctly American accent. "Our records on James Potter!" She smiled a big, over-white smile. Severus took the files and shuffled through them.

"You can keep those files; they're just a copy," Meg commented and Cindy nodded.

"I'm ready to go!" James had a broad smile on his face. There was a crowd behind him that was waving him off.

"Can't go anywhere without being the center of attention?" Severus sneered.

"I vaguely recall someone who was more of an attention hog than me," James said as he pondered the matter.

"Come along," Snape just said and ushered James along.

"You're treating me like a little kid," James scowled.

"Severus has been teaching too long," Dumbledore remarked with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, we're going to St. Mungo's to see a memory specialist.

James was starting to realize why he'd always felt anxious at St. Luke's. James hated hospitals. They were so sterile and unfeeling. Even St. Luke's, where people lived, was still too sterile for his liking. He remembered being at St. Mungo's when he broke his arm on his broom when he was 9 and being in the Hospital Wing more times than he could count and suddenly he saw the red-haired girl giving birth to the baby he recognized.

"You know, most hospitals are sterile but the Hospital Wing has always felt homey," James remarked good naturedly into the silence the three wizards had fallen into.

"Your son would agree to that," Severus remarked sneering.

"I got a bunch of memories again. Not so many this time though," James informed the other two.

"How is your head, James?" Dumbledore asked.

"Fine."

"What did you remember?" Snape inquired casually.

"Just the two times I've ever been to St. Mungo's plus all the times I was in the Hospital Wing at school." James looked over at Severus.

"I'm assuming one of the times you went to St. Mungo's was your son's birth. What was the other?" Snape looked concerned.

"When I was 9 and broke my arm," James replied. Severus nodded to signify that he'd heard.

"I think it's best if you don't tell him what to remember but let him figure it out on his own," the healer said and stared at her medical chart. "Also, you ought to figure out what the catalyst for his memories is. From what you told me, I think that the severe headaches should abate as he regains more and more memories as there will be less to add. One last thing is that the cause of the headaches is just that his mind is so unused to having memories that having so many return all at once can be overwhelming."

"Any ideas on how long it'll take until they're all back?" James asked. He hated being treated like he wasn't there; it made him feel like a little kid. He was 36 years old for Merlin's sake!

"It all depends," the healer replied. "As long as Poppy's there you needn't worry about the headaches," she assured him. "That woman works miracles."

"I've a detention with a Hufflepuff," Severus said as they stood in the entrance. He then apparated away. James and Dumbledore followed suit. Soon, the two were back in the Headmaster's office.

"Unfortunately, the only lodgings available happen to be down in the dungeons; right next to Severus' rooms, actually," Dumbledore said but he didn't look like it was unfortunate. "I'll bring you there now, shall I?"'

They traveled, discretely so that the students wouldn't notice a 'Harry Potter look-a-like', to the dungeons. It wasn't difficult as it was nearing curfew. Soon they were in the dark, damp dungeons. James looked around and recalled that he had never like the dungeons; they were too far from the sun and fresh air.

"--just finished detention with Professor Snape. He's a slave driver!" The Hufflepuff that Severus had detention with was coming out of the classroom and mumbling to himself.

"He probably heard that; he's got freakishly good hearing," James muttered to that.

"I heard that James!" Snape said from the doorway of his classroom.

"Hide me! He's got the glowering look aimed right at me!" James ducked childishly behind the second year Hufflepuff (who was quite tiny for his age).

"James Potter, you are a grown man; stop hiding behind children," came the reprimanding voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Not her too!" James moaned.

"Go on, Robert. It wouldn't do to miss curfew," McGonagall encouraged the boy who, upon this encouragement, sprinted off to his common room.

"Lovely to see you again, Professor," James smiled a winning smile and hoped that McGonagall would fall for it as she had all those years ago when he was still in school.

"You oughtn't scare second years like that," she remarked. "Have you and Severus fought since your return?" It stood to reason that she didn't understand the complex relationship between the two men. Perhaps they'd been more secretive than they thought.

"Not once, Minerva," Snape replied from his doorway.

"Though we can if you'd like," James smiled mischievously. There was something about the castle that made him want to wreak havoc and other such things that would have gotten him detention were he a student.

"Any particular reason you came down here, Minerva," Snape prompted.

"It seems you've given one of my students a most unjust series of detentions," she replied uninterestedly.

"And which student claims this?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Potter," she replied.

"Wait, aren't I Mr. Potter?" James wondered aloud.

"Your son, James," Severus remarked off-handedly. "He does deserve the detentions, Minerva. He only finds them unjust because he's genetically predisposed to despise me."

"And I'll bet you do nothing to stop something like that," James smirked at Severus. Severus didn't indicate that he'd heard the statement.

"It isn't that you hold a grudge against his father? You know, Severus, I can't help but think you give the boy an awful lot of detentions."

"He's a troublemaker. I expect rules to be upheld in my classroom." Snape crossed his arms and James could see McGonagall pursing her lips in anger.

"What'd he do, Severus?" James asked trying to solve the matter.

"He deliberately went against my ruling in class and was being stubborn and insolent." Snape just stood there like a wall.

"Professor, I'd say that Snape is set on this one; there'll be no changing his mind." James gave her a small smile. She nodded curtly and left.

"You needn't have defended me," Severus remarked as he went to turn back into his classroom.

"What's my son like? What's his name?" James looked at Severus with pleading eyes. Snape motioned for the other to follow him.

The two sat down in Snape's office and sat in silence for a moment. Then, Snape took a large breath, cleared his throat and started. "His name is Harry James Potter. He's sixteen years old and in his sixth year. Friends with Hermione Granger, a muggleborn, and Ron Weasley, he was placed in Gryffindor. He's foolhardy and takes matters into his own hands. He's reckless and likes to play the hero. He's the Boy Who Lived in some circles because Lily placed protection on him and he brought the Dark Lord's first downfall."

"First downfall?" James looked perplexed.

"He's working on his second as we speak," Severus replied in a tone that was not to be questioned.

"Does he prank?" James smiled broadly.

"He's too busy trying to save the world," Snape replied dryly.

"Sev," James looked at the other man beseechingly. The Potions Master in question saw where this was going.

"I really must grade these papers," Severus remarked. His voice betrayed a hint of nervousness.

"If you really don't want to talk about it, we wont," James sighed. "I'd like to meet my son though."

"He has detention with me tomorrow night," Severus remarked.

"Thanks." James walked back to the rooms he was staying in. He looked around the place a bit. There was a small kitchen that was set up so he could cook his favorite muggle dishes or just firecall the elves to get his food. It had a small, round table with room enough for, at most, five people. He even had a fridge which he found odd but pleasing.

Next, he explored the sitting room. There was a fireplace with which he could Floo the kitchens or, really, anyone he wanted. There was a small couch that looked comfortable enough and a chair as well. They were placed around a rectangular coffee table where there was the day's Daily Prophet. James realized he ought to look at that later.

After that, he went down the small hallway and came to two doors. One, he realized upon entrance, was a bathroom. The shelves were stocked with all the imaginable bathroom necessities you could imagine. James noticed that there was no less than five toothbrushes and seven tubes of toothpaste of the best known muggle and wizarding brands.

The last door led to his bedroom. It was sparsely furnished. There was a large bed with plain bedding and an even more plain nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a standard wizarding alarm clock. Across the room there was a desk with a wireless set on it and a bookshelf. The bookshelf had a couple shelves full of books but the rest were left empty for James to fill. He had hardly any possessions, however, because he had been living in an asylum. You have to monitor what you let crazy people near; especially the ones who like killing things.

James was just about to settle down into the chair and read the paper when there was a knock on what he considered the 'front door'. It was the door he'd entered the rooms through and where, he expected, most of his visitors would come by.

He opened the door to find none other than Severus Snape looming (because that's just what Snape's presence is like) there. "Well, Mr. Snape, how may I help you?" James smirked at the thoughts running through his head. It may have been 15 years since he knew who he was but he was still the same as ever.

"I was told you would be staying down here," the taller, more menacing man remarked. "I wanted to see how you were getting along."

"Well, I'll be the first one to admit that the dungeons aren't my first choice of residence but it's less sterile than St. Luke's. It's nice to be out of there but I think I'll miss it." James smiled ruefully.

"You don't belong there," Snape said with finality. That didn't stop James from pushing the matter.

"Do I belong here though? The wizarding world has done fine with out me these fifteen years." James leanded against the doorframe. "Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't gotten my memories back." There was a loud sigh heard from the younger man as he leaned his forehead against the doorframe.

"From what I gather," Severus started as if he didn't particularly like the matter, "Harry needs you. I think, in a way none of us knew possible, we all need you." Snape's words hit home with James. The latter stood up straighter (though most of him was still leaning against the doorframe) and looked straight at the other man.

"Even you?" In that moment, Snape saw in James the boy he'd once been. He could see the eleven-year-old who was secretly afraid of the sorting; he saw the boy who'd needed the attention all those pranks had brought him; he saw the boy who had needed his friends, needed Sirius, Remus and Peter, just as they had needed him.

"I did say everyone, didn't I?" Severus fulfilled the James' need for that sort of acceptance and recognition. Severus and James both knew that the former wouldn't answer the question any more blatantly than that; it was just his nature. "I shall visit tomorrow during me free periods." And then, in his usual, swooping manner that was vaguely reminiscent of a bat (although much more graceful), Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master, departed leaving a very confused James.