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Severus, exhausted after the shopping trip, sank gratefully down onto the couch. Harry and Zelda joined him, and the three sat in silence for a bit. This time it was Harry who broke the ice, asking, "Aren't either of you hungry?"

Zelda asked, "Can you magically cook dinner, Harry? I'm a bit hungry."

"My friend Ron's mom is a great cook, but I don't know how to do it," said Harry, thinking of the Burrow, wondering if he'd ever see it again. He had a new thought. "Do people here eat pizza?" he asked.

"Well, these people ate it yesterday," Zelda said, recognizing the familiar signs of teenage starvation. "But we can get pizza. I don't suppose you could summon my cell phone for me, could you?" she asked jokingly.

Harry said, "Show me what it looks like. Think of it..." and looked into her eyes.

She visualized her phone, until he saw it. He took out his wand and said "Accio cell phone!" and the phone flew through the air into his hand. He handed it to her, and she asked Severus, "Do you want pizza? Or I'll make something else."

"Pizza would be fine," he said, wearily.

She pressed a button, and ordered several large pizzas and a salad to be delivered, and then looked at Severus. His eyes were closed, and when she touched his hand it twitched spasmodically. She looked back at Harry worriedly, saying in a low voice, "I think this isn't a good time for Severus to make plans. Perhaps after dinner."

Harry cleared his throat and said, in a level tone, "I think this is the time, Zelda. If Professor Snape's willing to go back, I'm glad. But he can't do it tonight, and not tomorrow either."

Severus bolted upright, furious at being spoken about by the boy. Ignoring the dull throb in his head, he said coldly, "How dare you, Potter! I will not tolerate interference!"

Zelda found herself looking back and forth between them, like a spectator at a tennis match.

Harry knelt down, at eye level, in front of Snape. They locked eyes, and Harry said, "You're injured, Professor. You're not strong enough to face Voldemort, and you'll endanger the entire Order if you return before you're properly recovered."

Severus glared into stern green eyes that did not give way before his rage. A slight flush rose on his face, he was furious that the impudent brat was attempting to dictate to him. Seconds passed, and he realized that Potter was not yielding. His head was throbbing worse than before, but he would not yield.

"Ouch!" Zelda cried.

Severus realized he had squeezed her hand extremely hard and was filled with a sudden remorse. "I am sorry, Zelda," he groaned. "Are you all right?"

"Just a few broken bones, dear boy, nothing to worry about as far as I'm concerned," she said lightly. "I'm a little worried about you though... I believe normally you must have better control than this."

She added thoughtfully, "I won't presume to tell you what to do, since Harry's doing that quite effectively." She looked into his eyes, and opened her mind to him, but said out loud for Harry's benefit, "I'm afraid he's right though. You're better, but you need more time, and I think you should accept Harry's... um, suggestion."

Through the blinding pain of his headache Severus was not sure whom each emotion belonged to, if it was his or Zelda's. He felt them all; worry, trust, rage, fear, love... it was too much, and he realized, reluctantly, that Potter was right. He felt as he once had when Dumbledore refused to give way to him, bitterly resentful, yet relieved that he wasn't alone in the situation.

"Very well, Potter," Severus said sourly, through clenched teeth. "Do not get used to it, but you are right about my condition. I will consult with you and Zelda before I go anywhere."

Relief shone in Harry's eyes, and he held out his hand impulsively. Severus eyed it warily and reluctantly grasped it. Zelda knew that there would be many obstacles to understanding between the two, but she also saw real commitment expressed behind that handshake. The doorbell rang, and she looked at Harry. "Would you pay the man for the pizza?" she begged, not wanting to answer the door with tears in her eyes. "My purse is on the table."

Harry nodded, and finally they were alone. Zelda put a pillow next to Severus. He lay back, pulling her down with him, and they held each other until he fell asleep. Harry came to stand in the doorway and watched Zelda ease herself out of Snape's grasp, tuck a blanket over him, and kiss his forehead as if he were a small child. She smiled as she entered the kitchen, saying, "Let's eat!"

Harry had devoured half of a pizza before he had leisure to think of conversation again. Zelda refilled his glass with root beer, and he looked up, startled, and thanked her.

"What now, Harry?" Zelda asked, still nibbling at the same piece of pizza she had started on. "Severus shouldn't leave yet, but it's important not to waste time." She added, "I wanted to ask earlier. Are you supposed to do all this, the Horcruxes and all... all alone?"

Harry gulped down his root beer and said, "I don't want anybody to help me, but Dumbledore told me I could tell Ron and Hermione, and now that they know, they say they're going to help."

"Is that why you were so happy to leave them behind?" Zelda asked, shrewdly. "You don't want anything to happen to your best friends, of course. But I'm sure they don't want anything to happen to you either."

"I know, " Harry said wretchedly. "I feel awful about tricking them, and I need them to help me figure all this out."

"Are you able to bring them here?" Zelda asked, curiously. "Can they Apparate?"

Harry considered the idea. It was mad, he thought, but the whole day had been mad... yet he was learning so much. He realized that he needed to know what his friends would think of Zelda, and for them to see this different Snape he was seeing. "Is it all right with you?" he asked, looking suddenly shy.

"I'm extending a formal invitation to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley," said Zelda gravely. "They can plan to stay for a couple of days, if necessary. I have another motive in asking you to go back, Harry," she added. "I want you to try to find Severus's wand. He said Bellatrix found him behind the um, Shrieking Shack. Do you know where that is?"

"I know where it is, Zelda. I'll look for it," he said, smiling.

"Promise me you'll bring your friends with you to look," Zelda said, intently. "I don't know how that Bellatrix woman found Severus there, but I don't want her to find you alone. You and your friends watch out for each other, please?" she asked, looking carefully at him.

"I promise, okay?" Harry said earnestly.

"Um... Just out of curiosity, Harry, do you have any doubts about Severus? About giving him his wand, if you find it?" Zelda asked, an ironic smile on her lips.

Harry said "Ron and Hermione will think I've gone bonkers, and I don't think I'll tell them before we find the wand... but no, not really now." He met her gaze squarely. "Maybe I'm trusting Professor Dumbledore, finally," he mused, "but it's because of you too, Zelda, and the way he is with you. I don't know if he was always this guy, but he seems okay, for Professor Snape," Harry confessed. To Zelda's tired eyes, he suddenly looked very young.

"Just a suggestion, Harry," she ventured, "because neither of us really knows the answer right now, but what if he always was this guy we see today, but nobody bothered to know?" She continued, "He's a good man and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather see on your side."

Zelda went on; "I wonder if Dumbledore wanted you to learn to look below the surface, Harry. Don't take anyone else's word about a person, figure it out yourself." She smiled, and said, "Sorry, it's the mother in me. End of sermon."

"I think your kids are really lucky, Zelda. Thanks," Harry said, a little humbled. "I'm going now, I think. I hope I'll be back before he wakes up. It'll be easier than arguing with him."

"Good call," she chuckled. "Can I watch how you Disapparate?"

"There's not much to see," he replied. "But where can I do it? I don't want anyone to see us when we come back here."

"I know a good spot." It was still broad daylight, which seemed impossible, but it was only about six o'clock. She led him to the back garden, near the trunk of the huge old tree that grew there. A rickety privacy fence blocked the view from the houses behind. "I don't know exactly where you're going, but I think it's about six hours ahead, around midnight, maybe," she said, adding, "Harry, don't let them leave without letting their families know they're all right."

He nodded, ready to go, but she said again, "Be careful," and hugged him. He hugged her back, grinned confidently at her and vanished with a faint popping sound.

Zelda had just finished the dishes and washed Severus's new clothes, when she heard voices behind the house. It had only been an hour since Harry had left, and Severus was still asleep. She went to the back door in time to hear a young man saying, "Explain to me why we have bloody Snape's wand, Harry? And where are we?"

Zelda opened the door, and Harry stepped forward and seeing the worry etched on her face, grasped her hand, smiling. "You're all right!" she laughed in relief, and turned to the others. "You must be Ron and Hermione. Harry's told me about you, please come in."

Hermione studied the kitchen carefully, before turning her attention to their hostess. Zelda liked the look of her, she looked clever and quick, and her already high opinion of the late Albus Dumbledore's judgment soared even higher. If this girl was helping Harry, she thought, then maybe it wasn't hopeless.

Ron was looking around, fascinated, obviously the first time he had been exposed to a Muggle house. His blue eyes met hers, and he said bluntly, "Harry hasn't said a bloody word about you, lady. What's this about?"

"Harry! You didn't tell them anything?" She laughed and muffled her face in her hands; worried that Severus would wake to complete chaos. "Coward!" she exclaimed accusingly.

Harry said, "Explaining would've taken too long. Hermione, Ron, this is Zelda, and we need her help."

Hermione collected herself and said, "It's nice to meet you, Zelda. We definitely can use help, but you seem to be a Muggle, so I don't see what you can do for us."

"Patience, Miss Granger," Zelda said in uncanny mimicry of Severus, as she checked on the leftover pizza in the oven. "All will be explained."

"Bloody hell, Harry," Ron said, looking nervous. "Is Snape here?"

"That's Professor Snape to you, Mr. Weasley," Zelda responded genially. "Harry, do I have to give them the wand warning that I gave you?"

"No, no!" Harry said, hastily. "Listen Hermione, Ron, it's okay. He's not a Death Eater, he did it all for Dumbledore..."

"He murdered Dumbledore!" Ron retorted, appalled. Hermione stepped up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, and he subsided, giving Harry a chance to speak.

Zelda smiled at Harry as he began explaining, and said, "Check on the pizza, please. I'll be back," She stepped into the darkened living room, listening to Harry as he reassured his friends and answered their questions.

She knelt by Severus and laid her hand gently on his cheek. He reached up and pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Is the Potter brat holding a party in your kitchen, darling?"

"Something like that. His friends are here and he's explaining the situation to them," said Zelda, climbing onto the couch next to him and wriggling into a comfortable position. "I thought I'd give them a few minutes alone." She kissed him, and as she hoped, he lost interest in questioning her, responding so splendidly that she cursed the presence of young people in her house.

"Do you feel strong enough to face them, dear boy? Or shall I make your excuses?" she queried, pulling reluctantly free of his embrace. "I think they've subsided a bit."

"Help me up. I cannot tolerate putting off unpleasantness," Severus replied. He leaned on her as he stood up, and she held his hand as they entered the kitchen.

The three teenagers were seated around the pizza, eating hungrily. When Severus said, "Did you save me a piece, Potter?" in a studied, obnoxious voice, Ron flinched, and Hermione turned quickly to look at them. The familiar, snide voice, contrasted with this Professor Snape, bleary-eyed and supported by their strange hostess, had precisely the effect that Zelda had hoped for.

Harry snickered, and courteously said, "You're just in time, Sir. Have a seat, and I'll fetch your paper plate," Severus sat next to Harry, with Zelda on his other side.

Ron was staring at Zelda, wondering how she'd made Harry lose his mind. "Don't worry, Ron," she said calmly. "Harry's been pursuing information, and got a bit more than he expected. He needs your help though, so please pay attention."

"Harry!" Ron was horrified. "That woman read my mind. Or am I cracking up?"

"Ron, Zelda's a Legilimens, if you don't want her to see what you're thinking, don't look at her," said Harry, smiling apologetically at Zelda, who winked at him in return.

"A Muggle can't do Legilimency," Hermione stated positively, eyeing them all carefully.

"Precisely what I always believed, Miss Granger," Severus replied wearily, "until Zelda proved me wrong... "

"Ron... if I may call you Ron, you're shockingly easy to read if I can do it. Consider learning Occlumency," Zelda replied, standing and heading for the refrigerator.

"Anybody want a soda?" she asked, "By the way, help yourselves to whatever there is to eat. When we shopped I didn't realize that we'd be so many, but we won't starve right away." She passed bottles around and as she went to sit, she bent and kissed Severus on his cheek.

"Did you do that simply to shock them, Zelda?" Severus enquired cynically, even as a flush crept up his thin cheeks.

"Yeah... well maybe," she said, her mouth twitching. "Or maybe I just wanted to kiss you, Sev."

Ron and Hermione stared, thunderstruck. "Get over it. They snog a lot," Harry said to them in a jaded voice, "It's a bit disgusting, because they're old, but you'll get used to it." His green eyes gleamed with mischief, and he added, "Don't pretend you didn't notice the shirt either. Zelda's the only one who doesn't exactly see why it's so funny."

Zelda rolled her eyes ironically at Harry, and smiled gently at Ron, who had finally put his head in his hands. Hermione continued to stare at Severus, who was watching Zelda so fondly that she wondered if this was real.

"Professor Snape, why should we trust you, after what you did?" Hermione asked, a shrewd look in her eye.

"An excellent question, Miss Granger," Severus replied coolly. "However, I did not expect anyone to trust me, so I am at a loss as to how to answer your question," he said. "This scheme was dreamed up by Potter and Zelda, so perhaps you should ask them what they mean by it."

Harry suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket, saying, "I have something for you, Sir," and set the missing wand on the table.

Ron and Hermione stared in horror, but Severus made no move to pick it up. He looked at Harry instead and quietly said, "Thank you, Potter."

Zelda remained silent, but her eyes filled with tears. She blew a kiss to Harry and reached toward Severus, just as he put out his hand to her. As their hands met, she said to him sadly, "I did hope it would be impossible, you know."

Severus held her hand firmly. "I rather wished it impossible too," he said, "but since you and Potter have decided that I'm not fit to leave here, we'll have a bit more time."

"Please excuse me," Zelda said hastily, and headed for her bedroom.

"Is she all right?" Ron asked, who had watched Zelda leave before asking. Lifelong experience with an emotional mother made him recognize serious distress on Zelda's face.

"Zelda seems erratic," Severus said, "but she is extremely tough-minded.... Oh blast!" He muttered, sounding thoughtful. "She has to be all right."

He sat still, brooding, until Harry lost patience with him and said, "She's upset. Please go after her, Sir. Now."

Severus curled his lip cynically, "Is that an order, Potter?"

"Just a suggestion, Sir," Harry said calmly. "When she's okay we have things to discuss. You have to take care of her, because I think we need her, and it's very weird, but she seems to need you." Harry's eyes narrowed, and he added; "Go. Please... Sir."

"It is hard, Potter..." Severus responded cryptically, as he finally followed Zelda.

Severus opened the bedroom door and found Zelda curled up tight, not crying, staring at the wall. "Dear girl..." he began, lowering himself carefully to the bed and taking her into his arms.

"I thought I was ready for you to leave tonight," she said dispassionately, "But I won't ever be ready for this. At least if I thought you'd be okay it wouldn't be quite so awful, but this... And now I'll have to get ready all over again."

Severus watched tears spill from her eyes. No one ever cried for him, and he ought to be happy that his existence mattered to her. But her sorrow tore at him, and after so long alone this love also terrified him. Together he and Zelda had become more than they were separately, though they were still individuals. Time, he realized, must sort it out for them, but time was what they would not have. A bitter anger flared in him; that he could not have what so many took for granted. He glanced up, realized she saw his rage, and looked away ashamed.

"Why did you look away?" Zelda asked softly.

"I should be happy to be with you now, dear girl," he replied. "Not consumed with anger over my wretched life."

"Emotions aren't things we 'should' have," Zelda said, "there's no right or wrong... they just are. And did you know that no one does rage better than a middle-aged woman, my boy?" she said with a bitter smile. "There's not much that surprises me any more."

She sighed, musing, "I hate that my life's been spent living out the consequences of one huge mistake, and when I've finally found you, we only have a few short days together. If we had time, I think we could get it more right than almost anyone. Even now..."

Zelda opened her mind to him, and her emotions were clearer than her words. Her love for him was paramount, and he forgot to worry over their lack of a future. He remembered her words, however, and later, as she slept in his arms, realized that they applied equally to him.