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Vicis Flies Tergiversatio

(Time Flies Backwards)

Chapter 7

Severus learns the truth

The next morning Severus was up early, he went to the Great hall and ate some food. Thinking about everything he knew on Harry Evan's including before he found out the boy was a Wizard like him. How he seemed adamant about Muggles' not being the cause of his problems, always inviting him to Mrs. Evans for dinner and to stay the night. Then all those years of Hogwarts, Harry watching for him waiting on something. Then he thought about how Harry wasn't surprised he was a Death Eater, how it was just sadness. Then he thought about how much information Harry seems to know, how he knew so much about Voldemort which by the way had the Death Eaters in disarray. Bellatrix Black had just about apparated right away, utterly disgusted.

He wanted answers, would Harry trust him enough to give him them? He must be some sort of seer or maybe even time traveller? With magic anything was possible.

He noticed that breakfast was nearly over and Harry still hadn't come down. Sighing in exasperation, he grabbed four pieces of toast and put bacon between two pieces and sausage on the other two. He ignored the Slytherin's around him, not that they were talking much. They were too exhausted and sore, and suffering from information overload. The fact that they had joined a half blood made them sick to their stomachs and there was nothing they could do. They were marked, and they couldn't just deicide not to follow him or so they believed.

"Harry are you awake?" asked Severus, who was rather bitterly aware he couldn't get into the curtains.

"Yes" said Harry who sounded exhausted.

"Are you ok?" asked Severus sounding concerned.

"Tired" murmured Harry opening his curtains, and he did look it black circles were very prominent on his face.

"Do you want a dreamless sleeping potion?" asked Severus.

"No thanks I'd rather not accept something for the public potions cupboard" said Harry wryly. Too many Death Eaters roamed Hogwarts and could do anything; he was going to have to be careful. He didn't want anything to happen to himself; he remembered the havoc Draco had wreaked. How many times had he tried and failed to kill Albus Dumbledore instead hurt others? Oh no, he wasn't taking any chances, thank you very much.

"I can go and brew it for you if you like?" suggested Severus, sitting down at the end of Harry's bed watching the teenager with hooded concerned eyes.

"It takes four hours to brew so there's no point it will be almost night-time again before its ready" said Harry dryly.

"I'm only trying to help" said Severus his voice defensive now.

"I know Severus" said Harry a small smile on his face.

"Will you tell me the truth?" asked Severus, putting a silencing spell around Harry's bed so no one could possibly overhear them.

"Truth about what?" asked Harry hiding his worry.

"You know too much Harry it's not natural" sighed Severus.

"Excuse me?" frowned Harry getting rather apprehensive now.

"You must have suspected what was going to happen to my mum, you have tried for years to get me to see I didn't need to hate Muggles. You weren't surprised when I became a Death Eater, you know too much about Voldemort it just isn't possible. You have never been in the trophy room, you have never looked up information on Tom Riddle" said Severus pointing out a few curious problems.

"What makes you think that?" scoffed Harry, the panic unknowingly showed on his face making Severus surer than ever that Harry was hiding something.

"Come on Harry, you know I'm not stupid if you want me to swear an oath I will" said Severus honestly.

Harry's green eyes looked up at Severus, and Severus gasped seeing the aguish on the beautiful face before him.

"Do you truly want to know?" asked Harry the self loathing evident in his voice.

"Yes" said Severus quite simply.

"I'm from the future Severus, and before I tell you anymore I'll take that oath" said Harry his green eyes boring into Severus showing him he wouldn't be moved until he spoke that oath.

Severus' eyes were wide with astonishment; he had half expected Harry to keep denying it or tell him he was a seer. He had never truly believed Harry was a time traveller it had just been a stupid attempt at an explaination. He took out his wand and quickly made his oath to Harry never to speak about anything mentioned today ever again. Suddenly Severus' heart was thudding with the thought of everything Harry might tell him.

"What do you want to know?" asked Harry.

"What's your real name? Who are your real parents?" asked Severus just out of pure curiosity.

Harry smirked bitterly at that, well here goes thought Harry "Lily Evans and James Potter"

"Great, so they do stay together huh?" asked Severus, who hadn't been bothered by James Potter to the extent he had been the other timeline. Well it looked like he couldn't keep moaning at Lily - it didn't do much good. Severus didn't understand why he wasn't jealous; he had loved Lily all his life. He should be furious, angry, screaming with fury even surprised but he wasn't. Damn it what did that mean? Why didn't he want Lily to himself anymore? He had been furious just a year ago, what had changed? He pushed those thoughts to the side to deal with later he was alarmed though by the thought.

"Yeah for the two years they survive" said Harry bluntly.

Severus paled drastically, he looked green, and Harry was worried he would actually be sick.

"They die? How I mean how did they die in your timeline?" asked Severus.

"They were betrayed by their secret keeper, Voldemort came and attacked them" said Harry simply. He had gotten over it a long time ago, or so he kept insisting but the nightmares would indicate otherwise.

"Who would betray them?" gasped Severus wide eyed. "Please tell me it's not me" his onyx eyes were full of fear and dread.

"In my timeline Sev you and mum weren't talking, you called her a Mudblood she didn't want anything to do with you because of that" said Harry.

Severus gulped audibly he didn't like that thought at all.

"Anyway it was Peter Pettigrew that betrays them he becomes a Death Eater" explained Harry trying to change the subject.

"When?" asked Severus his voice cold and dark.

"I don't know when Pettigrew becomes a Death Eater, but they come to my home on October 31st, Halloween to Godric's Hollow when I'm one years old and kill my parents he turned his wand on me and he was temporary defeated…the killing curse rebound upon him" said Harry who seemed to have a flair for the dramatics.

Severus' jaw was unhinged, his onyx eyes were misted.

"Temporary defeated? What does that mean?" grasped Severus confused, trying to get his lost composure back and failing spectacularly.

"He created seven Horcrux's" smirked Harry.

"Seven?" gasped Severus looking ready to faint.

"Indeed, I was one of them" said Harry grinning wickedly; he was enjoying the unhinged look on Severus. After years of seeing him sneering or composed never shocked or emotional.

"Impossible!" whispered Severus shocked to the very core of his being.

"Yup, Voldemort had to kill me to remove it," said Harry.

"Kill?" asked Severus looking fearful.

"Yes, I let Voldemort kill me with the Avada Kedavra, it destroyed his Horcrux and allowed me to finally defeat him" said Harry.

"That means you know where they are right? Have you managed to destroy any?" asked Severus grabbing a hold of Harry's hand tightly.

"I can't change the timeline!" gasped Harry in fake dismay hiding his amusement.

"Timeline? Timeline! You could be out there saving your…Si I mean mother!" snapped Severus furiously.

"Good to see you won't be giving my any grief about that…I've destroyed four I've got two more to get" said Harry.

"I thought he had seven?" asked Severus confused.

"I was the last one remember…and technically speaking I haven't been born yet" said Harry.

"It must be confusing for you…the people you think of as parents are really your grandparents. Then there's the people you think of as sisters is really your aunt and mother" said Severus grimacing at the thought of it happening to him.

"It's very hard" sighed Harry sadly.

"What happened to me?" asked Severus curiously.

"I don't think you want to know" said Harry "It's not going to happen anyway…not if I have anything to say about it so don't worry"

"Tell me!" demanded Severus.

Harry raised an eyebrow "You were partly responsible for my parent's death. You told Voldemort a prophecy which led Voldemort on the hunt to kill my parents. When it became apparent Voldemort was after Lily, the person you had made Voldemort promise never to hurt you turned to Dumbledore. Dumbledore demanded you to swear an unbreakable vow, became a spy for him ultimately it was for nothing. Lily and James died, I was sent to Petunia's to be a house elf for the next ten years. No doubt you already know about some of what I went through." said Harry amusement clear as day in his voice. Oh he had known Lily was there, he could sense Witches and Wizards.

"Yes I heard" said Severus wide eyed, all those things that had happened to Harry was actually Petunia Dursley's doing? Bloody hell she had changed. He refused to think on how he was partly responsible for James and Lily's deaths…but why on earth did Harry want to help him knowing what he did?

"You are a good man Severus, you spent the rest of your life protecting me" said Harry sadly, Severus hadn't realized he had spoken out loud.

"I did?" asked Severus surprised, trying to imagine what he would have been like growing up with only Lily at his side.

"Oh yeah, you hated me but you did it" said Harry.

"Hate?" asked Severus warily, that was a big word.

"James Potter bullied you, very badly and when Lily and James had me well you only saw my father and you hated me for it. It didn't stop you trying your damn best to protect me though" said Harry.

"I see" said Severus trying to process everything he had learned.

"There's only two Horcrux's left, Nagini and Huffelpuff's cup. Nagini is with Voldemort and the cup is supposed to be with Bellatrix lest…Black. Once they are destroyed I'm going to defeat Voldemort" said Harry simply.

"You can't just defeat him" scoffed Severus his heart pounding at the thought of Harry going anywhere near Voldemort.

"I did when I was Seventeen years old thank you very much" said Harry adamantly.

"You are only Seventeen…aren't you?" asked Severus wearily.

"Technically speaking I'm twenty six years old" admitted Harry.

"Bloody hell" murmured Severus.

"I have to do it Severus before he targets my parents…I've already changed so much. Regulus is trying to get the cup but I'll need to wait and see what happens" sighed Harry.

"Regulus?" asked Severus jealously settling like a bitter pool in his stomach.

"Yeah, he knows…I told him a few days ago. You see he doesn't want to be a Death Eater. He found out about the Horcrux and wanted to destroy it, he assumed there was only one. He was going to make Kreacher destroy it, but only Godric Gryffindor's sword or basilisk teeth can destroy it" admitted Harry.

"He knew before me?" asked Severus bitterly, the jealously was actually making him see red.

"Yes, I had to tell him give him a reason to live" said Harry softly, disentangling his hand from Severus'.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Severus indignantly.

"I knew what you would become, I also knew it would take someone you care about being threatened for you to change sides. I had to wait until you got this phase out of your system. No matter what I did what I said you didn't seem to care about Muggles so I knew I had no hope of you changing. I prayed you would, very badly but nothing came of it" sighed Harry rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Severus had nothing to say to that.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see my parents dying, you dying killed by Nagini in the shrieking shack about nineteen years from now. Me being tortured, Cedric Diggory dying, Sirius Black my godfather dying, my best friend being tortured, Dumbledore dying although that I don't care about now" explained Harry a note of bitterness kept into his voice.

"You can avoid all that, you are doing it!" said Severus enthusiastically.

"I am, it's a lot harder than I thought, nothing is the same…I don't know what's going to happen. I mean I'm not Harry Potter anymore haven't been for nine years…I can't tell anyone either. I'm lost I don't know who I am anymore, where I belong" confided Harry feeling exhaustion but elated, the secrets were no longer just his if anything happened two people were around to see it done.

Severus looked at Harry properly, looking at his eyes seeing he exhaustion in them. He suddenly realized what Harry had been though all these years, and it wasn't just hunting for Horcrux's but seeing those lost to him. Surprising the hell out of Harry and himself, Severus pulled the teenager into a hug. Keeping a tight grip of Harry stopping the struggling, he instinctively knew Harry needed this. He knew what would come, and he was right Harry began crying. Letting out the badly locked up emotions he had been carrying around for the past nine years. Shuddering sobs racked Harry's frame, he may be twenty six but he didn't feel like it. It might have something to do with the fact he hadn't been allowed to be a child, when he had gone to the Evan's he had been allowed and that's what he had done. Allowed himself to be a child, he felt things like the child's body he was in. Had done for the past nine years, there was one thing Harry hated and that was being vulnerable or thought of as weak when he knew he was neither.

Severus continued rubbing Harry's back, the feelings he had for Harry grew even more. Having someone depending on him or someone to perhaps depend on was nice. He thought as he continued to hold Harry, he thought about everything he learned, he still felt angry and jealous that Black was the first one to know. Nothing else had sunk in; he was in shock himself with all he had learned. Either he truly was good at hiding and keeping a grip on his emotions or he was in shock…Severus was actually inclined to believe the latter.

Severus just wished he could tell his mother, someone who was like him. Likely to tell the truth like it was, and tell him to stop pussyfooting around and accept it. Then decide what he wants to do, that would be great now he was going to have to decide what to do with this information on his own.

He wondered if Black knew everything that was something he was going to have to ask. Once he got his jealousy under control that had been ridiculous his respond. Perhaps his feelings for Harry weren't strictly friendly after all.

Shaking out of his thoughts he noticed Harry was asleep, laying him back down. He put the uneaten food on the bedside table, before enclosing them both in Harry's bed. As Harry slept he continued on thinking about everything he had learned.

Harry was Lily's son.

Harry had defeated Voldemort in a different future at the age of seventeen.

He had caused Voldemort to go after Lily because of a Prophecy.

He had joined Dumbledore.

He had become a spy.

He had died at the hands of Voldemort's snake Nagini.

Voldemort had created seven Horcrux's only six now he supposed.

Harry was destroying them, and without him even noticing.

Looking down at the disgusting mark he had been so proud to bear a weak ago and knew with a damn certainty Harry could defeat Voldemort again. Determination began welling up in Severus, he didn't care about anything he had learned, Harry was Harry Evans now and he would remain that way. Not only that but Harry would survive again, Severus would make sure of it because he was going to do anything in his damn power to see it that way.

I'm disapointed in this chapter...it just doesnt sit right...i feel as if i have Severus' reactions all wrong! what do you think? will it be a close call and voldemort defeated on the same halloween he should have died on the original timeline? not just temporary but for good? will harry come out a hero again or will he never claim he did it and the aurors find him dead? outside godrics hollow? or will they fail and voldemort die a shadow again and harry have to wait until he comes back to finish him off? will Regulus actually get into bella's vault? who will finish off nagini? Severus? will i enable harry to take the mark off being slytherins heir? R&R please