Author's Note: First, allow me to apologize. The quality of this is less than that of my one-shots. I'm working on that. Poor quality aside, I'm very eager to work on this. It's a time-turner fic with a real plot that doesn't involve romance. Yay. Not to say there isn't anything wrong with romance-centered time turner fics-...Anyway. My first chapter fic. I'm excited. Yay.
Disclaimer:I don't own the characters. I'd like to think the plot is original enough to be called mine, but Time-Turner fics have been done before.
Pay Close Attention, Here it Gets Tricky.
Prologue
1998
"The potion you will be brewing today is one of incredible difficulty and requires constant attention. The Corporis Animum Transtuli, otherwise known as The Body Mind Transfer, will allow the consumer to swap bodies with the first person he or she comes in contact with." Professor Snape paused, turning towards Neville Longbottom. "It is incredibly fatal if brewed incorrectly. Proper preparation is key."
Neville Longbottom flushed with embarrassment. It was no secret among the students of Hogwarts that Neville somehow managed to botch every potion he touched. Even the simpliest of healing brews was not safe from Neville Longbottom.
Professor Snape's gaze moved from him as he continued his speech. "For your benefit, The Potion has been watered down immensely so that it will not be as powerful or as long lasting. I would hate to see what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands." He was now looking squarely at Draco Malfoy, who was jutting out his lower lip in an attempt to look the perfect picture of innocence. It wasn't working.
With a sigh, Professor Snape taped his wand on the large black board at the front of the room. Instructions for brewing the Corporis Animum Transtulibegan to appear in flowling script. He took one final look at the class before telling them to begin.
1976
"Can anyone tell me what potion can be made with the following main ingredients- Extracted Puffer fish Poison, Peppermint Oil, Ground Clovers, Rosemary Leaves, and Skins of Electric Eels?" Professor Slughorn rounded on his students, eagerly awaiting the raised hands. Almost immediately after finishing his question two familiar hands shot up into the air. Lily Evans and Severus Snape, though Lily's was indeed much higher and prouder than Severus's.
Instead of calling on either of them, Professor Slughorn turned to James Potter. James had his head down, messy black hair covering his eyes.
"Mr. Potter, would you be so kind as to answer the question?" Professor Slughorn approached the desk, one hand resting on the wood while the other stroked his famous walrus mustache.
James lifted his head up, blue eyes twinkling. "Uh. Sure Professor. The answer is...." His eyes darted around, searching for an answer. A few desks up his friend, Remus, mouthed something he didn't quite catch. "The answer is...Copos Amimom Trusuli."
Professor Slughorn chuckled. "Nice try, Mr. Lupin. Perhaps Mr. Potter should spend the time he slacks off taking lip reading lessons."
James flushed as Professor Slughorn walked away, stopping in front of Lily. "Miss Evans?"
Lily slid off of her stool, standing behind her desk so she could proudly recite her answer. "The Corporis Animum Transtuli, more commonly known as The Body Mind Transfer. It's purpose is to allow the brewer to swap bodies with the first person he or she comes in contact with. The first three base ingredients are used purely as an anesthetic to numb the consumer to the pain when the mind switch takes place. At it's most potent form.." Lily paused to take a breath. "It can last up to a year. In it's weakest form the effects last only a few hours."
Before she could continue Slughorn held up a hand to stop her. "Very good, Miss Evans. 15 points to Gryffindor for such a splendid answer." He now turned to Severus Snape, who usually sat in the back of the class and didn't raise his hand as often as he should have. "Mr. Snape, this potion is the inspiration for what popular phrase often used to describe experiencing someone else's trials and tribulations?"
Severus slumped on his stool, a flush creeping up his cheeks as all eyes turned on him. When he looked up he could see Lily gazing at him, flashing a confident smile. He swallowed hard and mumbled his answer.
"What was that, Mr. Snape?"
"To walk a mile in someone else's shoes."
"Brilliant. Five points to Slytherin. Now-" Professor Slughhorn walked up to the blackboard at the front of the class, giving it a good smack with his wand. Slowly, instructions for the potion began to write themselves on the board. Slughorn turned back to his class. "Begin."
1998
Harry nudged Neville, their cauldron dangerously close to bubbling over. "What's Hermione adding?" Harry hissed, squinting his eyes to see what ingredient Hermione and Ron were adding to their shared cauldron next, and how much of it.
"W-w-well." Neville cleared his throat and looked up at the board. "Since the base has finished b-b-bubbling, I think we're supposed to add lavender petals now. I think. I haven't k-k-kept time for how long it was boiling, have you?"
Harry shook his head, shaggy hair flying in all directions. "No, sorry mate. Thought you were."
"I was too busy trying to read the instructions!" Neville began to panic, his breath catching in his throat. If they botched this up, they could kill themselves. It was probably what Snape had wanted. Pair Harry with Neville and hope Neville did something horrible that would kill them both off. He was determined to fix whatever mistake he had made, re-reading the steps writing on the board.
"Don't worry, Neville." Harry laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "The next step written on the board is to add the lavender petals, so let's do that."
Neville nodded, picking up the lavender petals. He was right about to drop them when he heard Hermione hiss at him. "No no no! Neville! You can't do that now or-"
"Miss Granger!" Professor Snape boomed. "Concentrate on your own potion or you and Mister Weasley will be receiving a zero for today's work." He spun on his heel, his robes billowing at his feet. Hermione's head dropped, a blush creeping across her cheeks. Ron gave her back and comforting pat, but it wasn't needed. She was back to her potion in no time at all.
There was a problem, however. In that slight, brief moment when Snape had called Hermione out, Neville had started. His hand twitched, dropping the petals into the cauldron. His face stared into the cauldron in horror.
"Harry-" He hissed, his face paling as their brew bubbled into a sickly green color. "Harry!"
Harry turned, looking down at their cauldron. "Neville, what did you- oh no!" The cauldron began to rock upon the table, making the wood creak.
This caught Snape's attention. He inched closer, eyeing the contents of the cauldron. His gaze narrowed into glare and he fixed his eyes and Neville. "Please." He drawled out the word, his voice wavering with a tone that meant one's life would probably end very soon. "Tell me, Mr. Longbottom, that you took Miss Granger's advice and did not add the petals."
Neville bit his bottom lip and looked away. The cauldron suddenly heaved, purple bubbles lifting out and into the air. Snape's angry face quickly changed into one of worry. "Everybody!" He yelled. There was no time to get the students out. If the cauldron exploded or- The cauldron rattled again, dark smoke rising. "Hit the ground now!"
Harry had just enough time to yank Neville under the desk before the cauldron exploded.
1976
"Did you hear a word Slughorn said?" James asked Sirius, squinting at the directions. Their cauldron was nearly boiling over, though it was the shade it was supposed to be.
"Not a word." Sirius said, grinning. "Sorry, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Milly. She's got the most gorgeous lips. Mysterious eyes. Would look absolutely perfect if she ever-"
James cleared his throat, elbowing Sirius in the ribs. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's try not to kill ourselves this time. Now, what are we supposed to do next?"
Sirius shrugged, burrowing his hands into his pockets. "Not a clue, mate." He tossed his head over his shoulders, focusing his gaze on Lily. "Looks like Evans is adding some sort of flower to her's. Maybe we should be adding those frilly petal things now?"
James turned to focus where Sirius was looking. "Are you sure those were the lavender petals and not the dragonfly wings? It's so hard to tell. Man, she looks gorgeous today. I wonder how often she's going to wear her hair up like-" Sirius returned the elbow James had given him earlier. "Oh, right. Sorry mate." A gentle blush crept across James' tanned cheeks. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking back down at his cauldron. "Yeah, go ahead and all the lavender petals."
Severus stirred his brew three times to the left and glanced up. Was Black adding the lavender petals now? He was going to kill them all, surely! Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. That's when he heard it. He would know that sound anywhere, with Pettigrew's horrible potion making skills. He never suspected it would be Black this time, but sure enough it was the Potter-Black cauldron that was rattling on the table.
"What have you done?" Slughorn roared, reaching the James' and Sirius's cauldron. It was spasming, sending purple bubbles and dark smoke into the air. "Everyone, quickly. Try to get out- or take cover- I-" But he never had the time to finish. The cauldron exploded and the room filled with thick, dark smoke.
Lily coughed, covering her mouth. She knew that if she swallowed any of the potion she could risk swapping bodies with someone else, but she had never heard of breathing in the smoke working the same way. The blast had sent her a little off balance, and she was just about to stabilize herself by grabbing the table when she felt a pull behind her navel. It felt like her feet were moving quickly across the stone floor. Too quickly. Her head was spinning. "James! Severus! Someone!" She screamed, feeling like she was being pulled far away from the classroom.
James and Sirius, who lay on the floor from the force of the blast, soon felt the tug behind their navels. Almost like a portkey, but so much worse. James felt his hand, his entire body, flying across the stone floor though at the same time he felt like he wasn't moving anywhere. Severus, Remus, Peter, all were being tugged across the floor with force unimaginable, yet weren't moving at all. James could hear Lily cry out, but it sounded so far away.
Then, suddenly, he felt like he had slammed back into the ground. It hurt bad. It was like falling from the top of a five story high building and hitting the ground, but James had never gotten up or moved. Lily felt similarly, slamming into a stone wall and then hitting the floor. She coughed from the smoke, her eyes shut. Her body felt numb, like she was slipping away.
1998
Harry couldn't breath. Couldn't see. He coughed, painfully. He knew Neville was still beside him under the table, but he couldn't see or feel him. Inching his way out from under the table, Harry made his way across the stone floor. He could hear raspy breathing and see a busy haired silhouette outlined in the smoke. Hermione. He tried to call out to her but his lungs filled with smoke. He kept moving, his hands brushing across the stone floor. He reached out, trying to find the door, when his fingers grabbed onto an ankle. He looked down, his finger's wrapped around an outdated shoe.
He couldn't ponder further. He heard Snape say something or other when all the smoke began to disappear. His eyes watered, but when his vision cleared he looked down to see who he had accidentally grabbed onto.
Harry gasped. The face he was looking down on was his own, only there was no scar on his forehead. Taking a gulp of fresh air, Harry broke the silence in the room. "Dad?"
Want to find out what happens next? Who wound up where, and who switched bodies with who? Well, then, help motivate the author. Click review.