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Chapter 10
October 1st 1981 (part 1)
We were ready.
Sirius and I were holding hands, slightly leaning into each other, while Lily, carrying an oddly silent Harry, was firmly grasping James's arm. All five of us were standing still at the station platform, counting the minutes left for the train to arrive. We had very few bags with us, all enchanted to store more than it seemed, as Hermione Granger had done during the Horcrux Hunt in Deathly Hallows.
It was 11.28, January 15th 2011.
The train approached the station slowly and noisily as if it knew we were dreading its arrival. Too worried to speak we boarded the economy carriage one after the other, hands shaking slightly, our hearts hammering fast.
This was it.
The doors closed behind us with a loud clank and the locomotive started moving, steadily catching speed beneath our feet. We quietly moved to a group of empty seats far for prying eyes and sat down, looking at each other determinately.
Lily took out the Time-Turner from her bag and instructed us to get hold of its shimmering chain. Even Harry gripped it firmly with his little pink hand while staring at the golden device his mother was carefully setting up.
'Ready?', Lily whispered to me. I nodded.
Taking a last glance at the sunny landscape from the window panel, I mouthed 'Goodbye'.
It was then that everything turned into a blur.
...
We fell onto the ground hardly.
Rain was pouring down on us so thickly that I inwardly cursed myself for hoping otherwise only hours before.
'Damn you, Padfoot!' yelled James at Sirius while massaging his buttocks, 'You didn't consider that trains are risen above the ground, eh?'
'Oh, well, sorry I hadn't thought of that!' Sirius replied back affronted already soaked from head to foot. We quickly walked away from the rails and approached a small group of trees on the left.
'At least we didn't use the Time-Turner while travelling on a plane,' I muttered to Lily exasperatedly. She smiled at me while conjuring two large umbrellas and then handed one to Sirius and I.
James, still huffing, rummaged inside his backpack and took out the toy dragon I'd levitated when we first met. After concentrating for a few seconds he said "Portus" pointing his wand at it.
The dragon glowed for a moment, indicating that the Portkey was now ready to be used. James smiled satisfied. Setting up illegal portkeys wasn't the easiest job in the world, after all.
All of us grabbed the stuffed toy so firmly it seemed as our whole lives were depending on it. Five seconds later, I felt like being jerked forward into a storm of wind abruptly, myriad of colours swimming and muddling all around me for what'd seemed like ages. All of a sudden, my feet touched down so heavily that I fell to the ground once more.
Sirius readily helped me standing up as my hands and legs were still shaking.
'I hate Portkeys,' was my first coherent thought.
The second thing that came to my mind, then, was something on the lines of 'It's bloody cold, out here!'
The third ... the third was of pure wonder.
...
'Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a castle with many turrets and towers.' (H.P. & the Philosopher's Stone, p. 83)
...
Hogwarts appeared in front of me as I'd always imagined it to be like.
We were standing in front of the gates, the sky above us covered in stars, still shivering from the Australian rain combined with the Scottish freezing cold.
While James sent his Patronus to Dumbledore, Lily had quickly cast Drying Charms on all of us, definitely making the wait more comfortable.
Ten minutes later, a dark cloaked figure emerged from the cold misty darkness to open the gate for us. When it stepped closer, his wand held alight, I recognised who the man under the cloak was.
Even if I'd never seen him before, I could easily tell that those greasy dark hair, that pale face and that long hooked nose belonged to none other than Severus Snape. He was young, though, as I'd never pictured him before. Young and with a noticeable scornful expression on his face.
'Hello Severus,' Lily said trying to sound polite, 'We're here to see the Headmaster'.
Snape looked at her avidly for a moment then glanced at James, Harry and Sirius with a scowl. Finally his eyes fell on me.
'Who is she?' he asked coldly.
'It's not your concern, Snivellus,' answered Sirius with a snarl. Enmity between the two ran still deep, I realised.
'Tut tut, Black,' he sneered, 'For your information, I need to know precisely who comes in and out of this castle.'
'Yes, and inform your bastard of a Master like you did last time?' James growled at him in disgust. Even after reading the books, James still thought that all the problems had started because of Snape, who had been the one to recount half the Prophecy to Voldemort. The fact that he apparently loved Lily, as well, hadn't helped at all, either.
Snape paled visibly at those words.
'James, stop it!' Lily admonished her husband with a glare. Snape seemed pleased with Lily's defence yet didn't comment. His stare turned to me once again.
'What's your name?' the Potion Master asked, this time referring directly to me.
'Jemma De Angelis,' I answered briskly, 'I'm here to see the Headmaster.' James and Sirius clicked their tongues annoyed at me.
Snape nodded slightly at my words.
'Well, come in then,' he said finally, opening the gate in front of us.
We followed him up the path in silence until we reached the moonlit enormous front doors.
'Nice to know people still enjoy themselves in these dark time,' Snape suddenly stated looking at James, 'Nice tan, Potter.'
'Good to know you still haven't found the showers, Snivellus,' James replied back with a smirk at his arch-rival, 'Awful grease, by the way.'
Sirius and I chuckled at that diverted, while Lily punched James's arm and muttered 'Behave!'
Snape ignored our reactions, yet a faint flush of colour had creeped to his sallow cheeks. We entered slowly into the Entrance Hall, our steps resonating loudly on the levigated light marble floor. A few torches on the wall had been lit so that I could cast fleeting looks at the majestic interiors.
Severus Snape didn't seem to acknowledge my interest and proceeded brusquely up the magnificent stairs on our right.
Many faint lit stone covered corridors and moving staircases later, we found ourselves in front of a grim looking gargoyle.
The entrance to Dumbledore's office.
'Raspberry Jam,' Severus said.
The statue immediately moved out of the way, letting us go up the stairs. At the top, Snape quietly knocked at the door.
'Come in,' an old voice said.
Snape then opened it and let us in one after the other. Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, his hands holding a newspaper and a somewhat defeated expression etched across his old face.
He'd also looked like I'd always thought he would have. From his long white hair and beard and crooked nose, to his piercing blue eyes and half-moon glasses. That night he was wearing a set of golden embroidered scarlet red robes, accompanied by a matching pointy hat.
His eyes had lit up at seeing the Potters back so soon. For him, they had barely left his study hours previously. He didn't seem happy to see Sirius, though. Wonder why?
'Lily, James, Harry and...Sirius, welcome back,' he greeted them, then he looked at me with a smile, 'And yes, Miss De Angelis, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.'
'It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir,' I replied a little bit awkwardly. I'd never been good with authority figures, they tended to scare me somehow.
He smiled pleasantly at me.
'Severus?' he then called, glancing at Snape, still standing grimly behind us.
'Yes, Headmaster?' he politely asked.
'Miss De Angelis is going to be our guest here at Hogwarts. She'll be your student from tomorrow. I trust you will teach her whatever you will deem necessary. Come to see me tomorrow at ten, we will talk about this in more detail.' Dumbledore said. Lessons with Snape? Oh, dear.
'Fine, sir,' Snape replied drily, 'I shall be going then.'
'Goodnight, Severus,' the Headmaster said softly. Snape nodded and hastily exited the office, not uttering a single word.
Dumbledore locked and secured the door behind us with a wave of his wand, then stared at each one of us once again, his eyes falling thoughtfully on Sirius.
'Have you travelled to the future with James and Lily against my wishes, Sirius?' he asked him with a steely voice.
'I'm not the traitor, Headmaster,' Sirius said fiercely, his hands curling up into fists.
'I'm not implying that, my boy,' the old man replied.
'But you fear it!' Sirius scowled.
'Peter Pettigrew is the spy, sir,' I said strongly, grasping my boyfriend's hand forcefully.
'I see,' the Headmaster sighed, eyeing all of us tiredly, 'I am deeply sorry then, Sirius. I had not seen that one coming.'
A/N: The PAST! October 1st 1981 (Part 2) is coming up tomorrow!
Thank you bananafreak97, joanvindiesel, Sirius Luffer and Disney-Princess-In-Disguise for reviewing my last chapter!