Caritas omnia potest

Main pairing:
-Andromeda Tonks & Severus Snape
-Hermione Granger & Lucius Malfoy
Secondary pairing:
-Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter
-Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks

Many believed that Severus Snape had not survived the war. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry and some members of the Order returned to the Shrieking Shack to recover his body, but there was nothing there except a pool of blood, and so Severus Snape was declared dead a year after this cruel battle. But had he really died that night, or had someone saved his life at the last second? A question that even Severus could not answer, for he could no longer remember life in the magical world. The only thing he remembered was the scent of roses mixed with a hint of lavender. Six months ago he was released from the hospital, the only thing they could tell him was his name and where he lived, but no matter how many times he searched this house, everything was strange to him. Relatively quickly he found a job in a library, the work was not difficult and he preferred the silence that reigned there. He spent his lunch breaks in one of the coffee shops around the corner. The first few days he was more than annoyed by the waitress there, she asked questions he couldn't answer, but she learned quickly and so after a week he had peace and didn't have to have great conversations with this person. The black-haired man sank into the newspaper and completely blanked out what was happening around him, until suddenly that all too familiar scent rose to his nose. Uncertainly, he put the newspaper aside and looked around the small coffee shop. A woman had entered the coffee and looked slightly annoyed at the waitress, who admittedly was not exactly the fastest. Interested, he watched the brown-haired woman for a while as she tried to calm the baby in her arms.

"Just because I'm your grandmother doesn't mean I'm your parents' babysitter!" she grumbled, paying for her coffee. Their eyes met, disbelief reflected in the fawn eyes as she recognised the man in the corner. Uncertainly, she approached Severus and politely asked if there was room with him. He agreed immediately, why was not entirely clear to him, but there was something, something familiar and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"It's good to see you," she said, smiling slightly.

"You seem to know who I am. But I'm sorry to disappoint you, I don't know who you are, nor do I really know who I am. The doctors couldn't tell me either. Well, at least I know my name," Severus replied, slightly irritated, and eyed the woman in front of him.

"You can't remember anything?" she inquired incredulously.

"Unfortunately no, but if you know..."

"Are you happy with the way your life is now?" she interrupted him immediately, looking uncertainly at the black-haired man.

"I don't know what happened in the past, however, there are days when I can hardly move. It would be nice sometimes to have someone with you and have a conversation, especially someone who can tell you why that is," Severus answered honestly.

"If you are happy with the way your life is now, it might be better if you don't find out what happened before this accident. As for the loneliness, I may know a solution. There is someone from your past who knows you better than I do, I'll ask around. Are you still living in Spinners End?" she asked, biting her lips nervously. She wanted to check first whether it would be wise to tell Severus the truth about his past.

"No. It made me uncomfortable living in this house. I live two streets away from here" he said frowning, taking a pen from his coat pocket and writing down his current address on a napkin. The brown-haired woman nodded curtly and pocketed it immediately.

"Would it be so bad to tell me who I really am?" asked Severus finally, uncertainly.

"I can't tell you Sev. Let him be the judge of that, after all he's been looking for you for a year," she replied dejectedly, rising with her grandson. Severus did the same, put the money on the counter and followed the woman, still unknown to him, out into the street.

"Before you go, will you tell me your name?"

"Andromeda," she replied, smiling slightly and hugging Severus.

"Take care of yourself," she whispered softly, releasing the hug and leaving a completely confused Severus Snape to Apparate into the Ministry. Severus returned to the library, completely confused. Sue, his boss, eyed him anxiously; after all, she had known her employee for quite a while, including his medical history.

"Are you all right, Severus?"

"You can look at it any way you like. I was in the coffee like every day and then this woman showed up with her grandson. She seems to know me from before this accident happened. However, she said it would probably be better if I didn't know who I used to be. Andromeda is quite a rare name, isn't it?" he answered absently and dived into one of the shelves.

"Isn't Andromeda a galaxy?"

"Sue do I strike you as having the slightest idea about stars or galaxies?" he replied laughing softly and pulling out one of the books that listed all the names.

"It could have been," Sue said with a shrug.

"Let's see, here's Andromeda, Greek female first name. In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and wife of the hero Perseus. She bore many children, including Perses, who became the progenitor of the Persian kings. Andromeda is also a constellation of the northern starry sky. Meaning, she fights like a man or in the memory of a man. Well, the meaning leaves a lot to be desired," Severus murmured and looked thoughtfully at his superior.

"This is coming from you of all people. I don't want to say anything, but the name doesn't fit the Severus I know at all, maybe the one from your past. What else did this mysterious woman tell you?" Sue asked with interest and went back to her seat. Severus followed her and told her about the whole conversation. She listened attentively, knowing that she was pretty much the only one he talked to, but he politely declined any invitation to her home. Severus didn't want to burden her unnecessarily with his worries, she had enough to do here and her husband and two children were waiting for her at home, so he tried to take most of it off her hands so she could spend a little more time with her family. Something Sue appreciated very much about him. Sue advised Severus to wait and see what might happen in the next few days. Even if he was against it at first, he himself saw that it made little sense to look for someone of whom he only knew the first name.

Andromeda, meanwhile, had arrived at the Ministry of Magic and was impatiently waiting for her daughter to return from her mission. Remus had also disappeared off the face of the earth and so the former Black had to wait in her daughter's office with Edward, even though she should have been somewhere else long ago. The door opened and Andromeda exhaled in relief when Remus entered.

"It's about time. Here's your son, I have to go," she said irritably and pressed Teddy into his arms.

"Hang on Dromeda. I'm in the middle of work, I can..."

"You fathered Edward, so watch how you do it! I have something to do and it's a wee bit more important right now! I'm not your babysitter, I told you that when you took this job!" hissed Andromeda, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. Secretly, Andromeda was happy for her son-in-law that he had been given a job here at the ministry, even if it was just sorting files, but his little furry problem meant he was hardly employable elsewhere. What Andromeda really disliked, however, was that she constantly had to put her own life on hold to look after Teddy.

"And what exactly is so important?" Remus asked annoyed.

"It's none of your business!"

"Are you serious now!!!You show up here, shove Teddy in my hand and won't even tell me where you're going?!"

"Now listen to me very carefully Remus. I had no problem with Dora falling in love with you of all people. I didn't have a problem with you getting married and Teddy being born, but I do have a problem with you meddling in my affairs!" replied Andromeda with a sour expression, giving her son-in-law a contemptuous look. The murder of Ted Tonks by the Griffin had driven a wedge between them. No matter how many times Remus had tried to sort out this animosity between them, it didn't even come close to working.

"Dromeda..."

"I don't want to hear it Remus! You knew from the beginning! You knew they would hunt him and you did nothing! No you even kept it from Dora! Do you really want to know who was with me that night when my greatest nightmare became reality?!" she interrupted Remus angrily. It was pure contempt that was reflected in her face, not only against Remus, no, Andromeda's contempt was for the entire Order of the Phoenix, with the exception of her own daughter.

"Now tell me who was with you! Why are you making such a secret of this?!" hissed Remus angrily, setting Teddy down on the ground after he refused to keep still.

"Severus Snape," she replied coolly. Sheer horror was reflected in Remus' face at the name. He had expected many, but not this. Andromeda glanced briefly at Edward, who was happily babbling as he explored his mother's office, and finally left Remus without another word.