This is my new story. It is set in the Marauders' Era and it will be a FemHarry/Severus. Hope you like it.
Prologue
Grimmauld Place, November 1998
Harry knew that what he was about to do was probably the craziest, most foolish thing he had ever done and if Snape was there, he would tell him exactly that but that was the point, wasn't it? He wasn't. Snape was dead like countless others. He wasn't naive enough to think that he could save everybody by doing this but he hoped that by killing Voldemort before Harry was even born, a lot of people's lives would be spared. And yet, that wasn't the main reason why he was doing this. He was doing this for Severus Snape. Maybe it was because he was feeling guilty for what had happened to him, because he hadn't been able to save him, because he hadn't realized until after it was too late that Snape had been on their - his - side all along. Or maybe because he simply didn't find it fair that, after everything that Snape had been through all his life, all he had received in return was a painful, pointless death. Or maybe because in hindsight, he should have realized that his obsession with the Half-Blood Prince wasn't exactly normal. Not to say that he had ever been attracted to people of the same sex as him but he hadn't actually found Snape physically attractive either. And yet, he had been attracted to his mind. Snape had been so smart, going as far as inventing his own spells and improve the potions' recipes in his sixth year, maybe even before that. Before finding out about the Half-Blood Prince book, he had thought Hermione was the smartest person he knew, but Snape was on another level entirely. And he had been so brave. He had been without doubt the bravest person he had ever known.
Of course by going back in the past, he didn't actually expected for anything romantic to happen between them. Severus had been in love with his mother after all. And Harry wasn't even actually sure if what he was feeling was actually romantic in nature or simply admiration. But Harry wanted to try to be Snape's friend and improve his life as much as possible.
That was the main reason why he was now in the library of Grimmauld Place, about to try a dark ritual that might end in his death if anything should go wrong.
He had put up wards to prevent anyone from entering Grimmauld Place, so not to be disturbed.
He kneeled in the middle of the circle he had traced with his wand and his blood on the library floor and opened the book at the right page. The ritual itself was actually pretty simple and straightforward in nature. He just needed to drink a few potions, pronounce aloud a spell and that was it, really. The problem was he needed to concentrate in what exactly he wanted to accomplish and when exactly he wanted to end up or he could actually die for real. Because, unfortunately, the last part of the ritual required for him to die. It was his soul that would travel back in time, not his body. Once done that, he would never be able to return to his old life again so he needed to be absolutely certain of what he was doing.
He took a deep breath and started to pronounce the words that would change his life forever.
He had been very careful in his research, not having any idea at first if it existed a spell that would send him back thirty years but the one he had found was almost perfect. He would retain all his old memories and his awareness of himself but he would find himself in the body of someone else, someone that shared some similarities with him. They would merge souls so that, even if he wouldn't stay himself completely, he would at least remember who he used to be and what he was supposed to change - at least in theory -. He would cease to be 'Harry Potter' certainly but, at least, he wouldn't completely cease to exist.
Once done with the spoken part of the ritual, he needed to proceed with the second part. He drank the first potion that would help him reach the right level of relaxation necessary to complete the ritual. Under the effect of this potion he would be completely separated from his emotions. He wouldn't feel fear, apprehension, doubt. His mind would remain clear to complete the last part of the ritual. He drank the light green potion in one go and felt immediately the effects. It was like seeing everything that was happening around him and what he was doing from a distance. He breathed deeply again and closed his eyes, trying to connect with his magical core. It didn't take long. Since the final battle he had been more in tune with his magic, always feeling it thrumming under his skin. Since he had gotten rid of the horcrux inside him, it was like he had experienced a magical boost. He had always been powerful, but his magic had always been chaotic, somehow reflecting his mind. Now though he was even more powerful than before and his magic responded to him almost instinctually. There were times that he didn't even need to think about a spell because his magic knew in advance what he needed and reacted to it.
He thought about the year he needed to end up: 1968. At first he had thought about 1971, Severus and his parents' first year at Hogwarts. But then he realized that, if he needed to gain Severus' trust, he needed to befriend him even before entering Hogwarts. So he had thought about the year Severus and his mother had first met. He didn't know the exact date of course, but he surmised that they had met when they had both been 8-9, something like that.
The other thing he needed to think about was why he was going back in time. He concentrated on images of Severus Snape, both as a child and as an adult, and his desire to become close to him and improve his life. Maybe it was arrogant of him, thinking that his presence could somehow make things better in Snape's life but he knew what Severus needed to avoid making the mistakes that had ruined his life. He deserved to be happy, more than any other person he had ever known.
Finally the last part of the ritual. He needed to drink two other potions, almost simultaneously. The first was a poison that would kill him in a little more than ten minutes. He would simply long to sleep and he would never wake up again. The second was a potion to rescind the link that connected his body with his soul, not dissimilar to the one Voldemort must have used to create his first horcrux. It was fortunate that he couldn't feel anything anymore or he was sure that he would be full of doubts by now.
'Here we go' he thought before drinking the poison. He didn't feel anything but he didn't stop to wait for anything to happen. He immediately drank the last potion. The pain was comparable to the Cruciatus Curse and he couldn't help but cried aloud at that. Luckily it didn't last long. A few moments later he could feel his eyelashes grew heavy, the desire to sleep impossible to resist. A moment later his head hit the ground he was sitting on and he knew no more.