CHAPTER 1
A/N: I do not own Snape, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Lily or any related characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling. Plus, the movie that I'm basing this on, "The Family Man" is not mine either. It belongs to whoever wrote it, which I really can't tell you who did because I do not know at the current moment. Thank you to METMA Mandy for looking at this before I posted it, :::throws her a zillion galleons::: Okies, go on and read it!
"Now students.... How many uses are there for dragon blood?" said a dark, unnerving voice. He was a fairly tall man with greasy black hair swept back. His lengthy black cloak fell to the floor, and had green and sliver trimmings. He put his long, cold hands behind his back, then Professor Severus Snape did what he was famous for. His face held a hateful glare and his eyes were icy. Snape surveyed the room for the slight raise of a hand but saw no one. Well, he couldn't help but notice Granger's anxious waving, but chose to ignore her.
"Anyone?" Hermione was practically jumping out of her seat. Then his eyes fell upon the person he despised and loved to embarrass. The person that made him feel enraged at the very sight of him.
"Potter?" he said, as his lip started to curl into an evil grin. Harry bit his lip and thought for a moment. He looked to Hermione for help, but she couldn't seem to find away to tell him the answer without Snape seeing. Harry looked like he was searching his mind desperately. This will be great! thought Severus. Then, Harry suddenly blurted out "12!" to surprise everyone including himself.
Hermione nodded with approval and the Gryffindors smiled while the Slytherins looked glum. Snape maintained his expression, "No, Potter. I meant uses besides the first obvious one, which is acting as all blood does and keeping the dragon alive. The correct answer is 11. Five Points from Gryffindor."
Granger looked very cross, and Weasley did, too. "But it's still a use, Professor!" said Ron, angrily.
"If it didn't act as all blood does, it wouldn't be blood then, would it?" said Harry. Snape turned around with anger flashing in his eyes. "Another word and..." Ron shook his head and whispered to Harry after he thought Snape wasn't looking, "But it just isn't fair.."
Even though he had his back turned, Snape heard every word. "Potter, Weasley! Detention! See me after class!" They mumbled and held strong, fierce look of hatred on their faces. When Snape sat down at his desk, he said, "You are dismissed." He pretended to shuffle parchment around, but couldn't help but overhearing them.
"He is such an ugly-faced slimeball git! Doesn't he have anything better to do than bully kids?"
"Especially Harry..."
"Yeah.. What possesses him to be so...so..ugh!"
If they only knew... Snape thought to himself. What really was the reason he detested the child so much? For one, his messy black hair and glasses, how he was always breaking rules... Such a carbon copy of his good-for-nothing-father. Not to mention he was a Gryffindor... The only Gryffindor that had ever proven to be good at one point in time in his eyes had...No, that was too agonizing to think about.. He couldn't think about her.. Not with students still in his room.. A noise above him made him jerk up.
"Lily.." he said softly, without anymore words. Yes... This was the reason he hated the boy so much.. The pain.. the stabbing pain that swept through him as he saw Harry's face.... As he looked into his eyes, his mother's eyes, Severus saw the beautiful Lily Evans staring back at him.
Harry and Ron just looked confused. Snape was staring at Harry in such a weird way... Snape himself couldn't even grasp what he was feeling. But the pain, the horrible, horrible pain. "Professor?" asked Ron, even a little worried. "It's nothing... nothing... just...just go!" he said, shaking his head as he put it in his hand. "But what about the detentions?" asked Harry, incredulously.
"Forget them... Just go!"
"But.."
"GO!" he roared angrily. The two boys exchanged bewildered looks and left to see something they had never expected to in their lives... Professor Severus Snape, the mean, horrible, despicable Potions Master... was crying.
I have to get out of here... he thought quickly. But where was a place he could be alone? Truly alone... There was only one place he could think of, the teacher's lounge. At this late in the afternoon, there was never anyone there but himself. Snape grabbed his coat and walked out the door, slamming it and locking it as he did so.
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Severus sat in a solitary chair off in the right side of the teacher's lounge with a cup of tea in his hands. The chair wasn't very soft, but Snape liked it that way. The teacup was green with a silver snake and a golden snake biting each other's tails. It was one of his favorites, because he had it since he was 11 years old as a gift for getting into the "family house." As he sipped from it, he started to feel better. But how could he ever face his fellow teachers and the student body again? Usually things that had to do with him gossip wise spread like wildfire. He'd always come up with a witty comeback or something cold to say, but Snape didn't know what to think or do. He just sat there for a moment, dumbfounded by the fact that he had actually cried. That was a thing he had never done in about 15 years. And worst of it, he had cried because of something that would never be... More accurately put, could never be. He had cried because of the crimson angel, Lily Evans. He had cried because of someone who wasn't even there.
Snape sipped some more of his tea, but as the leaves swirled through the cup, memories of double Divination with the Gryffindors filled his head. Memories of being grouped with the red-headed beauty and having false assumptions of love. Love. What a cursed word. She had fallen for Potter. What a mistake that turned out to be, hmm? Maybe if she never met that awful trouble maker, they would have never produced "Potter Jr." Dumb Potters... like father like son they had a charm for girls. Though it wasn't like Lily was left alone without a handful of men surrounding her. She was so beautiful, and had the most amazing personality he had ever met. Always willing to play cards, listen to your problems... even if you were "Slytherin Scum." But there would be no way on Earth that Miss Evans would think of marrying a Slytherin. Heavens, no! Her popularity status and morals wouldn't let her.. And the fact that if she could have any boy she wanted, why would she pick a gangly, dark haired, big nosed, skinny adolescent who never had been asked by anyone to go on a date, let alone get married.
Slowly, another tear ran down Severus's cheek. it was such an odd, unfamiliar feeling. Twice in the same day he had wept because of her.. He had thought about her a thousand times before, and never cried.. Maybe it was because when he thought about her then he was younger. Younger meant that there was still hope for him to find a new love. Younger meant that there was still time to live life and find someone who didn't care what house he was in. But now, where was he now? He was 35, almost 36 next month. He was the most hated teacher at Hogwarts, earning half of what most wizards earned, and well.... Had no warm house to go home to. No one to share a candle light dinner with.. No wife who he'd share jokes with and discuss the latest issues in the Daily Prophet... No beautiful red hair to run his hands through.. No radiant green eyes to fall into and be absorbed in forever... No Lily.
Maybe if he had chosen Gryffindor that fateful September 1, things would be different. He and Lily would probably end up together, and his life wouldn't be this way.. But it wouldn't happen. There was no such spell that would allow you to totally change the past like that. If you attempted, you would die in the process.
But was his life really as bad as he was making it out to be? No, it couldn't be. 35 wasn't that old. Severus Snape would find someone someday... But he would never find another quite like Lily Evans.
Snape sighed and put the teacup which was now empty in the cabinet section marked "Severus". He shook his head and wiped the tears from his face. "If only..." he said, silently, looking down to the floor.
"This could be arranged..." said an unfamiliar voice from an area that was now suddenly dark.
Snape backed up, tensely. "Who are you? What are you talking about?"
"You said you wanted to make Lily Potter alive and be Lily Snape, did you not? This could be arranged... I mean, your life is such a screwed up crackpot anyway, why not?"
Snape frowned defensively, not even bothering to question why the mysterious person could read his thoughts. "What do you mean my life is a screwed up crackpot? I'm doing just fine thank you...and I have no regrets about Lily... She lived her life until death the way she wanted to and so will I... Now if you'll please show me who you are.."
There was a cold, hollow laugh. "That's all I needed to hear. Pleasant dreams, Severus." The lighting suddenly went back to normal and there was no one there. What is that supposed to mean?
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That night, Snape didn't fall asleep very easily. He kept thinking about that strange voice in the teacher's lounge where there had been no one there before. It couldn't have been a student, and no adult could have apparated... But the more he thought about it, the more tired he became. It was extremely late and his bed was looking very comfortable.
Snape's eyelids suddenly felt very heavy, and he walked over to his bed, tucked himself in the covers and drifted to sleep. Who cares about some practical joke anyway? It was probably some stupid mess... That was it... It was some... stupid...
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A million strange things were happening to Severus at once. The memories in his head seemed to be being plucked away, changed and brought back with the original. It was starting with the most recent, then continuing as the dates got older and older. He was spinning around in circles, and there was a lot of talking that matched with the images of past experiences. It was all moving so fast, he couldn't compensate anything. Anything until it suddenly stopped at an image of an awkward looking boy with a large, torn-up hat on his head. The Sorting Ceremony, he realized at once. This is the moment... If only I could have changed it... If only it could have been different.. If only the hat could have said....
"GRYFFINDOR!"
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A/N: So, how did you like it? Lil' Krissy here has been busy testing... :::shreds FCAT test::: So she couldn't write any fan fiction. But now that it is done, she has.. Anyway...Tell me what you think! :O)