TIME PASSES

The next few years passed quietly, punctuated by a few significant events that stuck in Severus' mind.

.o.O.o.

Second year was the year of the Blacks. When Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor the previous year, Narcissa had confined herself to glaring at her cousin and to making snide comments in retaliation, while her older sister, Andromeda, had kept herself aloof. This year, however, Regulus Black began Hogwarts and he joined Narcissa in the family feud against his brother, with the pair of them teaming up against the Black family traitor.

Over the summer, Andromeda had eloped with muggleborn wizard, Ted Tonks, and the family were clearly taking their anger over this event out on Sirius. Observing the interactions between the three Blacks, Severus was not sure if the family blamed Sirius for Andromeda's rebellion, if they were scared Sirius would do the same as her and were therefore trying to bring him back into the fold by force, or if Narcissa and Regulus were hexing him just for the sake of it, since there was no love lost between Sirius and his family.

This year, Severus had been spending more time with his Ravenclaw friends, Gaspard and Marsali, and less time with the Marauders but one day in late February, he came across Narcissa and Regulus attacking Sirius and Peter in a quiet corridor. They had taken every possible opportunity to hex Sirius ever since the school year started but there was a malevolence about this particular attack that had not been present previously.

Peter was cowering in an alcove and Sirius was frantically trying to defend himself, while at the same time protect the weaker Pettigrew against the two powerful Slytherins. Regulus may only have been a first year but, like all Blacks, he had arrived in Hogwarts already armed with an arsenal of hexes. Taking a moment to assess the situation, Severus yelled out to one of the nearby portraits to summon Professors Slughorn, McGonagall and Flitwick and then waded into the fight, being very careful to use nothing other than shielding charms.

"Shields and defence only, Sirius. Trust me," he whispered. The two boys stood in front of the alcove Peter was in and erected shields around them. Now that there were two of them casting the shield charms, the charms were holding better and Sirius was less flustered.

Deep down, Severus had not yet truly given up on his old friends, Lucius Malfoy, and Narcissa and Regulus Black, however, with this encounter he felt the last remnants of those friendships fade away and he finally accepted the need to let go of the strings tying him to his past. "I'll help them if the opportunity presents itself, for the sake of our past friendship, even though they're not aware of it, but I can't do more than that. They'll make their own choices and I have to let them make their own mistakes. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can fix," he resolved sadly as the three relevant Heads of House approached. To Severus' displeasure, but not to his surprise, Headmaster Dumbledore accompanied them.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall demanded.

"Mr Snape, you seem to have a problem with Miss Black and Mr Regulus Black," observed Dumbledore.

"Of course he picks on me. I'm not a Black. I'm unworthy of either being sucked up to or of being manipulated," Severus sneered to himself.

Severus quickly explained. "I was taking a shortcut up to Ravenclaw Tower and I came across Narcissa and Regulus Black attacking Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Sirius was only using defensive spells to protect himself and Peter, but Narcissa and Regulus were using strong offensive spells. Regulus may only be a first year but Sirius is still only second year. He didn't stand a chance on his own against the two of them, especially as one of them is a seventh year, so I called for help and added my shield charm to his."

"Playing Devil's Advocate here," Professor Dumbledore smiled congenially upon Severus, "why should we believe your word over Miss Black's, Mr Snape?" Secretly, Dumbledore was gloating at being in a position to earn Sirius' gratitude and sway him to his banner by placing all the blame elsewhere.

Severus did not believe in Dumbldedore's amicability for one moment. He was here for no reason other than to stir the pot. "Or cauldron, I suppose I should say," he thought wryly. "And does the old manipulator really think Sirius will think him the kindly benefactor if Dumbledore blames me over Reg and Narcissa? Sirius is far more loyal to his friends than his family."

"My cousin attacked us just because we're Slytherins and then this ruffian came along and helped him!" snapped Narcissa, following Dumbledore's lead.

"Is this true, Mr Snape?" asked the Headmaster severely.

Sirius started to speak but Severus stood on his foot and Sirius shut up. "I don't know who started the altercation, as I arrived in the middle, but I do know that Sirius and Peter were in trouble, so I helped protect them from harm. I certainly didn't do anything to inflame the situation further. You have the portraits as witnesses as to my actions, Headmaster," said Severus urbanely. "You are also welcome to check our wands. You'll see that Sirius and I were only using shield charms. If you check Narcissa and Regulus' wands, you'll see the spells they used were far less benign."

"And you were able to identify the spells being used in the midst of a fast-paced altercation, Mr Snape?" Professor Flitwick asked curiously.

"They weren't casting silently, Sir," he replied politely. "I could hear the spells being used."

"And you can identify seventh year level spells?"

"I've read ahead, Sir. I haven't tried any of the more advanced spells yet – my mother made me promise not to get ahead of myself and risk burning out my core – but I'm not in Ravenclaw for nothing. I enjoy reading and learning about magic." Of course, in reality Severus knew all the spells used in this incident from his previous lifetime but by playing up his Ravenclaw love of learning, his excuse was entirely believable to his Head of House.

Approaching Professor Flitwick, he held out his wand. "Here you are, Sir. As my Head of House, may I give my wand to you for examination?"

Barely managing to smother a smirk, Sirius followed his lead and handed his wand to Professor McGonagall, gesturing to Peter to do the same. Narcissa and Regulus, seeing no way around it, reluctantly handed their wands to their jovially smiling Head of House as well. After reviewing the last spells used on each wand and listening to the portraits' account of events, Severus' story was verified and Professor Slughorn's smile faded noticeably upon seeing the spells used by his two Slytherins.

The Ravenclaw and two Gryffindors were sent back to their common rooms, while Narcissa and Regulus were docked points and given detentions. Narcissa was also lectured for attacking a second year and was warned that if she did so again, she would lose her prefect's badge.

Everything was cleared up quickly and easily, thanks to Severus' actions. Professor Dumbledore, however, was not pleased, since the presence of the other Heads of House, as intended by Severus, afforded Dumbledore no opportunity to exercise his benevolence. Dumbledore's preferred method would have been to avoid investigating and assigning blame based on evidence but to graciously forgive Sirius for getting in a fight, without reference to the actual facts, thus establishing himself in Sirius' mind as one who would always support Gryffindor bravado over Slytherin nastiness.

Crossly, Dumbledore resolved to keep an eye on the young Ravenclaw. "There's something strange about that Ravenclaw boy," he mused, "and I'm going to find out what."

"That was brilliant!" crowed Sirius, before they parted ways to head to their respective common rooms. "You just took charge against three Heads of House and the Headmaster. How did you know what to say?"

"Because I was Head of House myself and I have a long acquaintance with Albus, Minerva and Filius," he thought.

Aloud, Severus explained, "Uncle Alex is a teacher and I've heard a lot from him about how teachers react to misbehaviour and excuses, especially when it comes to fights in the corridors. He may teach muggles but a teacher is a teacher, regardless of whether their pupils are magical or muggle, so I just acted in a way that I knew he'd respond positively to, namely by making sure that we defended ourselves in a non-aggressive manner and didn't attack. That's why I told you to use shield charms only. Narcissa tried to start an argument that she thought couldn't be resolved – she thought it would be her word against ours – but I stayed calm, presented the facts, pointed out neutral witnesses and suggested a method by which the Heads of House could investigate all our actions. I also handed over my wand without being asked. The portraits and our wands then confirmed my version of events was correct. I came across as rational, reasonable and trustworthy and she came across as a petulant child."

"You didn't even know that we hadn't started it," squeaked Peter, "but you helped us anyway."

"You're my friends. Besides, I never claimed that you didn't start it. I merely said I didn't see that part of the fight and that I hadn't exacerbated the situation. I don't know why the Headmaster felt a need to interfere, though. I only asked the portraits to call the Heads of House, not the Headmaster. There were only five of us involved: one seventh year, three second years and a first year. I'm sure the Heads of House were more than capable of dealing with the situation on their own. It's like the Headmaster doesn't trust them or something, isn't it? I wonder why he would appoint them as Heads of House if he doesn't trust them to take care of minor incidents like this?" Severus asked ingeniously.

"I can't do much about whatever Albus may be scheming at this time but I can ask the types of questions that will hopefully get the Marauders to query his actions and motives, instead of following him blindly," Severus contemplated. "If I can stop them regarding him as their protector, then that's what's most important right now."

"I know your cousin and brother have made a point of hexing you whenever they could this year but this seemed a lot more vicious than normal. Has anything happened?" Severus asked, curious to know what had spurred this particular incident.

Sirius suddenly grinned. "My cousin, Andromeda, eloped with a muggleborn, Ted Tonks, in the summer. He was a Hufflepuff a couple of years ahead of her. The family disowned Dromeda – blasted her off the family tree – but we've been keeping in touch. Anyway, she had a baby earlier this month. On Valentine's Day, no less¹. Dromeda seems to have followed the family tradition of Ancient Greco-Roman names - although we normally stick to the ones that are also stars and constellations - but you'd think she would have foregone that particular custom. She called the baby Nymphadora. What a name to saddle the poor kid with! I'm guessing the family has just heard the news and, as they can't get at Dromeda, Narcissa and Regulus thought they'd have a go at the other Black Sheep of the family instead."

Severus chuckled to himself. "Tonks is going to agree with you on that point, Sirius," he thought with a smile. "That's great news, Sirius. Congratulations," he said.

"I wonder why the Headmaster seemed to focus on you, as though you were responsible for the fight?" Sirius suddenly wondered.

"I don't know whether or not to be glad that he noticed that. It's not as though I can be fully honest with Sirius," Severus mulled.

"Perhaps he was trying to calm things down between you and your family, so he decided to question me, as the non-Black participant in the fight," Severus said, before adding a startled afterthought, as though the concept had only just occurred to him. "At least, I hope that's all it was and not that he thought I could be used a convenient scapegoat so that he wouldn't need to get on the wrong side of your parents or your aunt and uncle. But, no. He's the Headmaster. I'm sure he'd be scrupulously fair." Severus was quite proud of himself for managing to say that last sentence with a straight face and in a tone that sounded as though he really believed what he was saying.

Of course, Narcissa and Regulus did not suddenly repent their actions after this incident, however, Sirius for once chose to demonstrate that he was born and bred a Black, even if he had chosen to become a Gryffindor, and he became cannier, making sure always to traverse the hallways in groups large enough not to present a tempting target to his vengeful family.

Later that year, however, the Marauders came across Narcissa and a group of other seventh year Slytherins attacking a Ravenclaw sixth year. The Ravenclaw, who was somewhat of a misfit, was outnumbered six to one and was faring badly. Oddball or not, the Marauders could not stand for such injustice and Sirius, James and Remus promptly joined in the fight. Knowing that Peter would be more of a hindrance than anything, Sirius took a leaf from Severus' book and yelled to Peter to go and get help and this time all four Heads of House arrived, with the Headmaster once again appearing. Sirius noticed the Headmaster honing in on Xenophilius Lovegood, the misfit without political influence, as the perpetrator.

"Headmaster, he was hardly likely to pick a fight with six people on his own!" the exasperated Gryffindor exclaimed.

"Now, now, Mr Black," Dumbledore began patronisingly but Professor Flitwick interrupted him.

"Albus, really! Mr Black is quite right. Mr Lovegood is one of the gentlest and least combative students in this school. I refuse to believe without proof that Mr Lovegood would have started a fight with six students who are all strong in offensive magic."

"I concur," snapped Professor McGonagall. "I suggest that we one again question the portraits and examine wands."

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure where my wand is. Perhaps the nargles took it," explained Xeno looking around vaguely for his wand.

"Accio Mr Lovegood's wand," said Professor Flitwick and everyone watched silently as it came zooming out of the robes of Walden McNair.

"I disarmed him out of self-defence," the man who would shortly become a marked Death Eater blustered.

"In that case you won't mind letting us examine your wand, will you, Mr McNair?" Professor McGonagall asked firmly.

"Let me see your wand, Mr McNair," Professor Slughorn sighed. Sure enough, upon examination, all the Slytherins had been casting borderline dark hexes, while Xeno Lovegood had merely cast a Steleus sneezing hex.

"Well, even if Mr Lovegood began the fight, which I doubt – I have to agree with Filius on that – I'm sure we can all agree that the Slytherins severely over-reacted," stated Professor Sprout, who had been quietly observing until now, as none of her Hufflepuffs were involved.

Once again, the situation ended with detentions and point losses for the Slytherins. However, when the Marauders were telling Severus about the incident later that day, Sirius commented, "Professor Dumbledore all but accused Xeno Lovegood of starting the fight. If the Professors hadn't examined wands, Xeno would have been blamed without the Headmaster even bothering to ask what had happened."

"I'm glad to see they're picking up on the Headmaster's favouritism this time round," Severus smiled to himself.

With the massive points loss from the two incidents, all hopes of Slytherin winning the House Cup that year were lost. After that, the Slytherins laid low and the rest of the year passed reasonably quietly, although Regulus continued to cast occasional hexes at Sirius whenever he thought he could get away with it.

However, one day Severus happened to spot all four Marauders attacking a lone Slytherin in their year, by name of Mulciber. While he knew that Mulciber would become a sadistically evil Death Eater and privately thought that Mulciber deserved everything the Marauders could throw at him, Severus resolved to have a quiet word with the Marauders.

"Why did you all gang up on Mulciber like that?" he asked. Seeing them about to protest against his distaste for what they had done, he continued. "By all means, defend when attacked or when you see someone else being attacked, but attacking someone else four-to-one, no matter how competent their duelling skills, is exactly what the Slytherins did to Xeno Lovegood. Do you really want to be seen as no better than them?"

That certainly gave them pause. James and Sirius, not surprisingly the ringleaders, looked startled and then thoughtful, as they took in what Severus was saying to them. Severus plunged on, laying things out in terms that he was sure they would appreciate.

"When it comes hexing other people in corridors, keep it fair and try to make sure you're in the right, otherwise you'll gain reputations for being bullies. If you feel the need to deal with someone as a group, stick to harmless pranks and then most people will probably regard you as fun-loving pranksters rather than nasty pieces of work. The professors will have to give you a token punishment but it'll be nothing compared to what you'd get if you're caught attacking someone with uneven and unfair odds," he advised.

"That's surprisingly Slytherin of you, Sev," Sirius said, reluctantly impressed with this reasoning.

"Well, my Mum's family have all been Slytherins for generations," Severus reminded them. "It's not that I didn't inherit any Slytherin-like traits, it's that I chose not to become a Slytherin, just like you Sirius. That doesn't mean I can't let my Slytherin side come out to play once in a while, though."

Sirius barked a laugh at that but took Severus' words to heart. Severus soon saw a difference in the Marauders' attitudes and behaviour, as compared to his last lifetime. Admittedly, this change was more to do with self-interest, since they wanted to be popular and admired rather than derided as bullies, than because they actually saw anything wrong with attacking Slytherins, or indeed anyone else they did not like, but Severus was happy to encourage them in curbing their nastier tendencies, regardless of the reason. As a result, much like Severus himself, the boys became far nicer than they had been last time round, all except for Peter, who still caused the hairs on the back of Severus' neck to rise. The rat had enjoyed watching others be tortured in Severus' previous life and there was already something furtive and shifty about him now. Severus could recognise the incipient darkness within Peter and he realised that no matter what, Peter would end up betraying them. In Severus' case, it was as much circumstances as his fascination with the Dark Arts that had led to him taking the Dark Mark in his last lifetime, but in Peter's case, as he did not have Severus' previously dreadful childhood, it seemed likely that it would be entirely due to his nature that he would become a Death Eater.

.o.O.o.

By the time third year came around, James and Sirius had decided to become animagi to help Remus, Severus having subtly steered them in that direction. During this year, they finally told Peter about Remus' lycanthropy but they did not tell Lily. She was much more of a stickler for the rules than the Marauders and they did not think she would approve of their desire to become secret animagi. The fact that the three boys – including Peter! – had managed to become animagi so young in order to help their friend was about the only thing Severus admired about the arrogant boys he had known in his last lifetime. It had taken the boys a couple of years to succeed, finally gaining their animagus forms in fifth year; their and third and fourth years were spent both in the pursuit of this and in the development of the Marauders' Map.

Severus was astounded by the magic involved in the latter endeavour. "I always knew they were intelligent but I couldn't see beyond our animosity to accept it last time," he concluded.

Since Hogwarts had accepted his Headmastership from his previous lifetime, Severus was still connected to the wards. This, combined with his far greater knowledge of the castle, enabled him to help the Marauders develop the map further than last time. At his suggestion, this time they duplicated the map, so that they would each have a copy. However, using his connection to the school and the wards, he managed to sabotage Peter's copy of the map, building into Peter's copy hidden wards that would cause it to become unreliable after they left Hogwarts, although Severus trusted that since Peter would have no reason to monitor the map continually once he finished school, he would not realise that the map had since become unreliable. It would continue to deteriorate gradually and by the time Harry's second birthday came around, the magic within Peter's map should have faded altogether.

The corridor and rooms that they had appropriated back in first year appeared only to themselves, so that even if someone else were to look at the map, they would remain unaware of this section of the castle. Severus was not yet ready to start collecting Voldemort's horcruxes and so needed to ensure that the Room of Hidden Things remained a secret, therefore, he made sure that the Room of Requirement was not discovered by the boys and that it was not included in the map, although he quietly checked before and after each school holiday that Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem was still hidden there. Not having anywhere else safe to keep the Diadem, he left it in the Room, trusting that as per last time, it would remain there undisturbed until it was time to destroy it.

Having already learned all that he was being taught in class, Severus needed an intellectual challenge. Knowing that there was a chance that Harry might end up with a horcrux in him again, and also wanting to ascertain if the precious Founders' items that Voldemort had used to store his horcruxes in could be saved, he began to research methods of destroying horcruxes without destroying the vessels containing them. As a Headmaster acknowledged by the castle, he was able to bypass the wards around the Restricted Section in the library, however, not entirely unexpectedly, there was no information available there.

Wanting to maintain his skills in the Dark Arts without showing an interest in them to those around him, Severus began using the Room of Requirement to practise his Dark spell casting. One day, the Room, responding to his frustration over his inability to find any information on horcruxes, suddenly provided books on the subject. He was unable to take the books out of the Room but he copied the relevant information and warded the parchments, so that none could read them but himself, disguising them believably as obscure potions notes.

Severus had already made an impression on the Potions Master, Horace Slughorn, with his exceptional brewing skills and he was invited by the Head of Slytherin to assist in the required brewing for the school infirmary. While he did not enjoy spending time with Professor Slughorn, he missed brewing, finding the small amount of time spent potioneering during class was not enough to satisfy his love of brewing, and so accepted the lazy Professor's offer.

From third year onwards, the students were of course able to visit Hogsmeade. Severus and Lily gladly visited Eileen during their first Hogsmeade weekend, enjoying the taste of home they got from spending time with her. They had both visited Eileen in Hogsmeade many times before and so did not feel a need to explore the village the way most third years did at first, although they did introduce their friends to their favourite parts of Hogsmeade. Both children also introduced their friends to Eileen and all the youngsters soon made a point of stopping in at the apothecary to say hello during every Hogsmeade weekend. While he made sure to spend time with his friends when in Hogsmeade, Severus also used the time to assist Eileen with her brewing and between her tutoring during Hogsmeade weekends and school holidays, and his extra brewing time with Professor Slughorn, Severus was soon acknowledged to be far beyond his classmates in this subject, something that was not unusual with children whose parents held masteries. Although Lily was also skilled in this area, her level of expertise did not compare to that of Severus, and it was agreed that Severus would be allowed to proceed at his own pace and sit his Potions OWL early. As brewing potions did not involve foolish wand-waving² there was no concern that advancing quickly in this class would strain his magical core. This was a big change from his last lifetime, however, because Severus still had the knowledge and skill of a Potions Master and was struggling to hide it, this was a welcome change for him. All-in all, his Hogwarts years this time round, were passing much more enjoyably than they had in his previous lifetime.

.o.O.o.

Finally, by Halloween in fifth year, Sirius, James, Peter and this time also Severus, had all managed to complete their animagus transformations. As before, Sirius transformed into the Grim-like dog, which they nicknamed Padfoot; James transformed into the noble stag, which they nicknamed Prongs; and Peter was again the rat, Wormtail. The first time Peter transformed, Severus was hard put not to stamp on the traitorous rat but, with great effort, restrained himself.

Severus had been very curious as to what his animagus would be, not having become one in his previous lifetime. Knowing that his animagus form would reflect his personality, he wondered what animal would represent him. While the Severus from this lifetime was a very different person to the Severus from his previous lifetime, he still retained his memories from the past and knew that his previous experiences were an integral part of his makeup, which would impact upon his animagus form.

To his great delight, Severus did not turn into a canine. Despite being friends with the Marauders this time around, his previous experiences had put him off dogs and wolves permanently. Instead, Severus turned into a melanistic serval. The serval is regarded as one of the smaller, medium-sized big cats, however, like tall and lanky Severus, it has very long legs. The sleek, long-limbed predator suited him excellently, he felt.

"What is that?" asked Sirius in shock, the first time the boys saw Severus transformed. They were in their lair in the hidden corridor, and had conjured a full-length mirror, so that each boy could see what their animagus form looked like.

"It looks like a black Serval Cat," Severus replied, once he had changed back.

"And what's a Serval Cat?" James inquired dryly.

Severus pulled the muggle animal encyclopaedia he had brought to Hogwarts off a shelf and turned to the page on Servals and the boys eagerly read the information therein.

"Cool!" exclaimed Peter.

Severus barely refrained from sneering at the smaller boy and with no more than a curt nod in his direction, transformed back into the cat again, so that he could examine his animagus form more closely.

"Well, he should certainly be able to keep Moony under control. What should we call him?" asked Remus, who had been perched on a table, watching.

"Lankylegs!" exclaimed Sirius, winking at Remus.

Severus immediately changed back into his human form. "Over my dead body!" he declared adamantly.

"Blackie? Sooty? Pussycat?" Sirius continued suggesting absurd names, grinning as the dour Ravenclaw's irritation grew.

"Perhaps Obsidian? Or Ebon or Ebony?" suggested Severus. "My wand is ebony."

"That's a possibility," agreed James, who had been ignoring his best friend's attempts to wind up Severus. "It doesn't feel quite right, though."

"Well, we can keep thinking about it," acceded Severus philosophically.

That night, the four animagi snuck out onto the grounds of Hogwarts to run in their animagus forms, with Peter's rat perched upon the back of James' stag.

"Rather James than me," thought Severus, barely repressing a shudder.

When the boys returned to their den in the castle, James, who had been closely observing Severus' Serval during their run, commented, "You know, you completely blend into the shadows, Sev. Even more than Padfoot does. I could barely see you in the dark. What about Shadow?"

"I like that," said Severus, who felt that it nicely represented his years spent as a spy.

"It doesn't have the fun side that our names do," Sirius objected in disappointment. "Half the fun is making people wonder what our nicknames mean."

"Which is why Shadow suits me," said Severus firmly. "No one will think twice about you lot having strange nicknames for each other. They may wonder about the reasoning behind them but it won't surprise anyone. I'm not exactly known for my frivolity, though. If you give me a strange nickname, it'll attract too much attention. The whole point of doing this in secret is so that we can spend the full moon with Moony. You know we wouldn't be allowed to, even in animagus form, if the staff knew what we were planning. It's better not to give me a nickname that will make them question too much. If we decide on Ebon or Ebony, we can say it's because you wanted me to have a nickname as well and you chose it because of my hair and eye colour and because of my wand. If we decide on Shadow, we can say it's because I prefer to stay in the background rather than being in the thick of things like you lot, and so you decided to call me Shadow because of that. Any of those nicknames would suit me and my Serval but would also be unremarkable, thanks to having perfectly reasonable explanations."

"Sev's right," acknowledged James.

Sirius pouted but agreed. "So which one shall we choose?"

"Any of Ebon, Ebony and Shadow would suit Sev," commented Remus, "and they can all be explained reasonably without suspicion."

"And none of them is nonsensical or ridiculous," Severus agreed, glaring at Sirius, who laughed uproariously in response.

" Now that I think about it, Ebony sounds a bit girly," Severus decided. "I think I prefer Ebon."

"Ebon sounds weird," Peter commented.

"It sounds like a savage in the jungle. Ee-bon. Ee-bon," grunted Sirius.

Severus stared aghast at Sirius. "He doesn't realise how much of a arrogant, supercilious, pureblood snob he actually is. One of these days I'm really going to have to teach him about political correctness. Not to mention basic respect towards others," he thought in dismay.

"How about we compromise on Shadow?" James asked, trying to bring the metaphorical meeting back to order before the disagreement could get out of hand.

"Agreed," said Severus definitely, once he had his voice back.

The boys all finally agreed on Shadow and parted ways, all looking forward to the next full moon when they would be able to let their animagi out to play.

Sure enough, when the Marauders started using their new nicknames, eyebrows were raised and murmurs could be heard from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, as they tried to work out the meaning of the strange nicknames. The four boys took great delight in teasing anyone who was brave enough to ask them and everyone soon reached the conclusion that they had chosen silly nicknames just to cause a fuss, and the interest soon died down, although it did not quite fade entirely.

When the Marauders started calling Severus 'Shadow,' however, Lily, Marsali and Gaspard were harder to deflect. As Severus had predicted, those who knew him were astounded to hear him responding to a silly nickname, and they pressed for an explanation.

"Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew decided that they had to have special Marauder names and after much deliberation, they finally came up with those four pieces of art: Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. If you want to know why their juvenile, little minds chose those particular names, you'll have to ask them," he sneered, as Marsali and Lily giggled at his obvious disdain.

"Then they took it into their heads to decide that as a so-called honorary Marauder, I should also have a nickname. Black initially came up with such gems as 'Sooty' for the colour of my hair and eyes or 'Lankylegs' because I have long legs, so I count myself lucky that I ended up with 'Shadow.' Apparently, it's because, unlike those four who revel in being the centre of attention, I prefer to remain in the background like a shadow."

As predicted, Severus' explanation made perfect sense, especially after mentioning some of the more preposterous names Sirius had suggested, and his nickname quickly ceased to incite interest, although the mystery of the Marauders' names was something that continued to be speculated over whenever there was nothing better to gossip about. Fortunately, Hogwarts was rarely lacking in gossip and eventually the idea that the names were meaningless nonsense became widely accepted.

On the next full moon, James, Sirius, Peter and Severus all managed to sneak out successfully. Wormtail scampered up the Whomping Willow and despite Severus privately praying that the aggressive tree would smash the rat into a pulp, he easily managed to activate the knot which stilled the tree and opened the secret tunnel underneath without mishap. Muttering Lumos to create light from their wands, the boys made their way down the tunnel and climbed the stairs at the end. It was winter in the Scottish Highlands and the moon had risen early. They reached a door and heard the growling and snarling that indicated Remus had already transformed into Moony.

"James, will you have enough room for your antlers if you transform into Prongs here?" asked Peter, who was shivering with fear.

"I'm not sure," he replied.

"Okay, Prongs, you go out the tunnel, transform and wait for us at the entrance. Take Wormtail with you so he doesn't get trampled on. Shadow is the one who's best able to stand up to a werewolf, so I'll stand guard here at the door and Sirius, you open the door magically and then transform immediately into Padfoot. I'll keep Moony away from you, while you transform," said Severus.

The boys all agreed and, with the plan prepared, letting the werewolf out went smoothly. They ran back along the tunnel and out onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Gathering Prongs and Wormtail with them, they disappeared into the Forbidden Forest and spent the night running around. Moony enjoyed romping about with the big, black dog, Padfoot, while Shadow and Prongs, with his large and impressive antlers, were easily able to keep Moony under control. They steered him back into the Shrieking Shack in the early hours of the morning, and the exhausted werewolf was happy to curl up on a blanket and sleep. Closing and locking the door behind them, they made their way back into the castle and to bed, to get a few hours' sleep before they would have to be up in the morning for classes.

The next evening, after Remus had been released from the hospital wing, they gathered to congratulate themselves exultantly on the success of their plan.

"It really does seem to have helped," said Remus in astonishment. "I don't ever remember much about my transformations but I'm definitely not as battered and bruised as normal."

"Perhaps your wolf isn't designed to stay cooped up in the Shack and so Moony rebels, making it harder on you. Being able to run freely is probably a lot easier for him," Severus speculated, sensing that Shadow would not like to be kept in captivity either, even if only for one night a month.

"That could be it," agreed Remus thoughtfully.

The boys spent the rest of their time at Hogwarts joining Moony in his transformations on each full moon. Sometimes Severus could not believe how irresponsible and careless they were being over other people's safety, but knowing that in the last timeline there had been no accidental encounters between Moony and any humans (only one intentional encounter, when Sirius tricked him into following Remus on the full moon) made him confident that things would continue without mishap in this timeline, too, although he maintained a constant vigilance to make sure that Moony did not ever escape his animagus guards.

.o.O.o.

Ever since first year, James had made his interest in Lily clearly known. As soon as they were able to go to Hogsmeade in third year, James had started trying to persuade Lily to go with him. James' declarations of love had been rather grandiose and Lily could not bring herself to believe in his ostentatious posturing. With the burgeoning attentions of other girls in their year, James had also begun to realise that he was rather good-looking and his popularity was going to his head. Lily was finding his arrogant swaggering very off-putting and could barely stand to be around him.

Finally, during fifth year, Severus reluctantly decided to step in. Dragging Marsali along with him, he cornered James and they explained the facts of life to the brash and cocky Gryffindor.

"Here's the thing, James," Marsali explained patiently. "Girls with a modicum of intelligence don't like conceited toe-rags. The ones who are chasing after you are all mindless bimbos who want nothing more than to be Mrs James Potter. They don't care about you as a person. You could be anyone as long as you're rich, reasonably good-looking and willing to marry them. Lily, on the other hand, actually cares about the person, rather than the position they can offer her. She wants to date a man who wants to get to know her, and who wants to let her get to know him. A swollen-headed prat is not appealing to a girl like Lily."

James opened his mouth, then snapped it closed. He turned to Severus, who nodded in agreement. "Tone it down, Prongs," he advised. "She's my sister and I know what she's like. Right now, when you ask her out, she's thinking that you're making it all about you and not about her. You need to think about Lils and what would please her."

"I just want her to think that I'm special," he said quietly.

"Well, right now she thinks you're specially annoying!" Marsali retorted in exasperation. "Don't you want her to fall in love with you? The real you?"

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed.

"Then stop clowning around and just be yourself," Severus admonished him.

"And don't rush things," Marsali continued. "Give her a chance to see that you've changed and you're not going to behave like a bothersome prat anymore."

"Thanks, Marsali, Shadow," he said.

"You know, I am going to find out what your nicknames are all about," she warned the two boys, narrowing her eyes at them warningly.

"Never going to happen but feel free to try, McGonagall Junior," James teased her.

James took their words to heart and immediately reined himself in. Much to Lily's surprise, he refrained from inviting her to go to Hogsmeade with him on the next Hogsmeade weekend; instead he waited until the following one, to give her time to get used to the new and improved James Potter.

With some additional coaching from Marsali ("Don't ask Evans out in public, Potter. No one likes to be put on the spot like that.") one day, he asked Lily if he could have a quiet word with her in private. She looked surprised but agreeably followed him out the portrait hole. Sirius, who was in the common room at the time, began to cheer loudly, until Remus hit him to make him shut up.

"You know, sometimes I really don't understand why you're friends with that idiot," she commented as they stopped to talk in a convenient alcove.

James frowned at her description of Sirius but did not say anything about it. "Evans... Lily. I know I've embarrassed you in the past and I apologise for that. It wasn't fair of me to keep putting you on the spot. If I promise not to do that again, or to embarrass you while we're out, would you do me the honour of going to Hogsmeade with me, next Hogsmeade weekend?"

Lily looked at him in shock. "Are you playing some kind of joke on me, Potter?" she demanded suspiciously.

"No! Of course not!" James looked horrified at the very idea. "If you must know, Sev advised me to calm down and to be a bit more considerate of your feelings. I believe the words 'dunderheaded show-off' may have been used."

Lily giggled at that. "I'm glad you listened to him, James. I don't mind you having fun, you know, but if you revert back to that rowdy, big-headed oaf..."

"I'll be a perfect gentleman," he promised, and he was. Lily was delighted with the fun-loving but sincere version of James Potter that he was now displaying to her. Their date went extremely well and by the end of it, they were very definitely a couple. Lily was positively glowing and simply bubbling over with happiness. Severus was pleased that Lily was so happy but he did wonder when he would finally meet his promised soul-mate.

.o.O.o.

Lily was not the only girl to be attracting the interest of a young man. The Evans family was very happy in Durham and both Petunia and Alex were loving the school. Alex had started his after-school self-defence clubs again and a number of the older students who had permission to leave the school grounds would often drop by the Evans home to visit Alex, who had become one of their favourite teachers. Petunia was blossoming in this new environment. She would never be the beauty that Lily was but joy and contentment were giving the older girl her own prettiness and it seemed that Severus was not the only one to notice.

A group of former students of Durham School were sharing a house in Durham, as they all studied at universities and polytechnics in Durham and nearby Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Some of these students regularly attended the self-defence club and one of them puzzled Severus enormously. The young man named Gareth had graduated from Durham School the year after Petunia began, in her second year of high school. Severus knew he had never met him before, in either his past lifetime or his present, and yet there was something very familiar about him. What surprised Severus even more was his devotion to the self-defence club, despite the all too obvious gentle nature of the young man who had been so aptly named³.

During the school holidays Severus' and Lily's friends from Hogwarts often visited. They had all become fond of Alex and Iris and they soaked up Alex's lessons in muggle defence. It was Sirius who finally solved the puzzle for Severus, the first time he met Gareth. Still not having developed a filter for his mouth, Sirius plunged right in.

"You know, you look remarkably like my cousin's husband, a man named Ted Tonks. I don't suppose you know him, do you?"

"Sirius!" Lily hissed, taking care to ensure that the muggle boy did not hear her. "There's an awful lot of muggles. Far more than magicals. We don't all know each other the way you purebloods do."

Severus, however, had a feeling that Sirius was correct and this was corroborated by the man in question.

Ignoring Sirius' outstretched hand and crossing his arms belligerently, Gareth replied, "He's my brother. What's it to you? It's not like your family cares about them."

"Ah, but I do. I'm as much a rebel as my favourite cousin is. I visit her regularly; that's why I'm the only member of the family who knows Ted well enough to recognise your resemblance to him, or who has met little Dora. She's adorable, isn't she?"

"It's true," James confirmed, nodding his head earnestly. "Sirius rather despises his family and their snobbish attitudes."

With that, Gareth was welcomed into their group. Severus soon came to understand why the gentle man was so concerned about learning self-defence, as this seemed contrary to his very nature. Learning of the situation his brother and sister-in-law were in, Gareth wanted to be able to defend himself against anyone who would attack him. Of course, muggle self-defence techniques would not help against the Killing Curse but Severus kept his mouth shut. After all, it was not as though wizards had a defence against that curse either, and at least Gareth would stand a chance against anything other than the Unforgivables.

Severus had noticed Gareth eyeing Petunia appreciatively and quietly encouraged the interest. Gareth was a good man, who was accepting of his brother's magic and adored his young, magical niece. He would be much better for this kinder, nicer Petunia than Vernon Dursley would be. It was soon obvious to all that Petunia and Gareth were falling in love and the dental student met with the whole family's approval. By the time Petunia finished Durham School the year Severus, Lily and their friends finished their fifth year of Hogwarts, and was preparing to begin a course in horticulture at nearby Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture⁴, it was understood by all who knew the couple that it was only a matter of time before Petunia and Gareth got engaged.

.o.O.o.

The end of Severus' fifth year at Hogwarts, marked significant changes for Severus and Eileen, as Master Brewyer passed away at the end of May that year. Eileen had not yet managed to buy the business from him in full and when summoned to Gringotts for the reading of his will, she was stunned to learn that he had left the remainder of the business to her. Eileen protested this unexpected generosity, not wanting his daughter to think that Eileen had somehow stolen part of her inheritance, however, the woman was quick to reassure her.

"My father was very fond of you, Mistress Snape, and he expected great things of your son in the field of potions. He knew the end was coming and that he would probably pass before you completed the purchase of the business, and he told me that he was planning to deed the remainder of the business to you. My husband and I are well off and do not need the balance of the purchase fees. My father built this business up from nothing and it meant a great deal to him, especially after my mother passed. I would be very pleased to know that it is in the safe hands of one to whom it means almost as much as it did to my father. I cannot continue it myself as my skills do not lie in the field of potions."

Eileen was overwhelmed but gathered her wits enough to thank the grieving witch profusely. "I assure you, Madam, that as long as I or my son owns the business, it will retain the name Brewyer's Apothecary, in tribute to your father. He was very good to me and I will always be grateful."

Master Brewyer's daughter nodded silently, tears streaming down her cheeks. She squeezed Eileen's hand once then turned to her husband, who gathered her in his arms and escorted her out of the bank, before apparating them both away.

Numbly, Eileen concluded her business with the goblins and then walked down Diagon Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron, lost in thought. She chose to floo back to Hogsmeade, not wanting to risk apparating while she was so distracted. She remained preoccupied for the rest of the day as she tended to the shop on automatic pilot. At the end of the day, deciding not to brew while she was in this frame of mind, as she would surely ruin any potions she attempted, she locked up and warded the shop, hung the closed sign on the door and headed upstairs to her flat, where she sat down with a cup of tea to brood.

Until now, she had merely been continuing to run the apothecary business in the manner in which Master Brewyer had set it up, while she struggled to purchase it from him. Now that she owned it outright, she could begin to make changes. She knew that Severus was an extremely talented potioneer and was very interested in the business, so she was hoping that he would want to undertake a Potions Mastery and join her in the apothecary. With two Potions Masters, they could focus more on brewing their own stocks and could perhaps even contract to supply St Mungos and Hogwarts with some of the more unusual potions they required. She knew, of course, that Hogwarts had a Potions Master on staff but, given the many demands on Professor Slughorn's time, for potions which required more esoteric ingredients or a large amount of dedicated brewing time, it may be that it would be more efficient and cost-effective to contract out such brewing than to attempt it in-house.

Of course, all her plans for development centred on Severus pursuing a Mastery and wanting to join her in the business, so as soon as the summer holidays started, she took the first available opportunity to have a talk with her son. Explaining the new circumstances, she asked Severus about his plans for after school.

"I definitely want my Potions Mastery, Mum," he said earnestly. "Would it be better to do it here with you or with another Potions Master?"

"It would certainly be easier for us if you were to pursue your Mastery under my tutelage but if you decide on that option, I think we should also ask Master Slughorn to supervise you. It would be better for you if it were known that your Mastery was attained under the supervision of an independent Potions Master, rather than just your mother."

"Mum, I sat my Potions OWL early and I'm going to be sitting the NEWT early too. Do you think I might be able to start brewing Master level potions once I've passed my NEWT?"

"I'll discuss it with Master Slughorn and see what he says. We can also decide if he should be the primary or secondary supervisor for your Mastery."

"I'd like to do at least part of my Mastery with you, Mum. I want to work with you here in the shop."

"I'm so proud of you, my son," she said, hugging the young man who was turning out so well, despite the deficiencies of his early upbringing. Fortunately, he had a far better role model in Alex Evans than he had in Tobias Snape, who had still not seen his son since the day the Snape marriage ended, back when Severus was nine years old.

"I'm proud of you, too, Mum," he whispered. "I know it was hard for you to leave Dad, to leave me with the Evans and to become an apprentice again. You did what was right for us, even if it wasn't easy, and I'm glad things are finally good for us."

Tears welled up in Eileen's eyes at this affirmation from her son. Life had indeed been a struggle but it looked to her like the hardships were now over and she and Severus could enjoy their improved lives. Little did Eileen know that the wizarding world would soon be overrun with trouble, thanks to the increasing activities of one Tom Marvolo Riddle, otherwise known as the self-styled Lord Voldemort.

.o.O.o.

¹ We don't know Tonks' exact birthday, however, according to the information we do have about her, she was born in 1973 but was in the same school year as Charlie Weasley, who was born in December 1972, making Tonks' birthday somewhere between 1 January and 31 August 1973. In my world, Andromeda eloped partly because she truly loved Ted Tonks but wouldn't have been permitted by her family to marry a muggleborn and partly because she was pregnant, thus forcing the issue. I've therefore decided to be nauseatingly soppy and make Tonks' birthday Valentine's day, tying in with the true love idea – and also because I think the soppiness of it would annoy Tonks just as much as her name does!

² Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling, Chapter 8.

³ Gareth means gentle. I thought someone who epitomises 'gentle' would be a nice contrast to the boorish Vernon Dursley.

⁴ There has been an agricultural college at Houghall Farm since 1920. Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture, also known as Houghall College, merged with present day East Durham College in 1999. I don't know what the college was called in the 1970s, or what courses they offered at that time, but for the purposes of this story, I'm going to assume it was the previous name of Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture and that they did offer courses in horticulture which would have suited Petunia.