Severus Snape and the Last Year Chapter 10: The Memoirs of Severus Snape, a harry potter fanfic

Severus Snape and the Last Year

By Carla Lute

Notes: If you want to go with the zippered, semi-chronological reading of the Last Year levels, you would read Level 3.6 right after Level 1.8: The Change in Professor Snape (aka Chapter 19).

Special Thanks to Imbeni for beta testing.

Disclaimer: This story is based on the Harry Potter novels written by J.K. Rowling. All characters created by J.K. Rowling are owned by J.K. Rowling. The few characters created by me (i.e. Persephone, Hotchet, Kagome…) belong to me, but are available for use in other fics as long as I get credited as their creator. None of us are making any money off this and no infringement is intended.

oOo

Level 3.10: The Memoirs of Severus Snape

Dumbledore was waiting for an answer, so he nodded. He did love Persephone. She was his best friend after all. But he had just finished reading Magica Amoris with this grand idea of love as a very powerful, rather mysterious force, and he had developed a timid reverence for it. Love was sacrificial and complex in its simplicity, and it terrified him a little. Besides he had just been dropped twenty-one years into the future and thought he ought to figure what was going on before he declared anything.

The strangest thing was how he did not feel strange at all. He supposed he ought to be scared or worried or something along that line, but instead he felt oddly peaceful and extremely curious. Severus had so many questions he was not sure where to start.

Dumbledore has his own questions. "How are old are you now, Severus?"

"Seventeen," he answered and added to be thorough, "Last date I remember was May twenty-second...of seventy-seven." Dumbledore seemed to recognize the significance of the date. "When am I now?"

"Saturday, May ninth, nineteen hundred ninety-eight."

Almost exactly twenty-one years gone. Severus frowned while he did the math. Persephone had turned sixteen only a couple of weeks ago, but according to Dumbledore she would be having another birthday tomorrow.

"How old is Persephone?"

Dumbledore sighed again. "Sixteen. Normally, I would say she'd be considered seventeen tomorrow, but I think we've left normal far behind. I believed she escaped her painting in late August, so she may not truly be of age until the end of the summer."

They were closer to the same age now. Severus remembered making a wish once while blowing out birthday candles that they could have classes together. In retrospect that wish may have been unwise. "Do I still need to take my N.E.W.T.s, or do my scores from the first time still count?"

"I will need to consult the Wizarding Examinations Authority to answer that question," said Dumbledore, still looking grave. "I can tell you that the Ministry of Magic does not consider loss of memory to excuse anyone from crimes they have committed. That precedent was established so the guilty would not try to escape their punishment through Younging Potions or Memory Charms."

"I'm still fired then," Severus said before he could stop himself.

To his relief, Dumbledore's lip twitched. "Yes, Severus, you are most definitely fired." Dumbledore pushed himself off his chair to his feet, and Fawkes flew back to his perch. "Let's go see Poppy."

Poppy turned out to be Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. They traveled to her office through the school's internal floo system. She showed the twenty-one year lapse even more than Dumbledore. Her dark blonde hair had turned silver, and her kind face was lined with stern wrinkles. "A Younging Potion?" she repeated. "There's nothing I can do about that, Albus. No antidote."

"I understand, Poppy, but I would like you to check him over for other side effects and keep him here overnight for observation." Severus did think Dumbledore sounded tired, but unlike Persephone he had the tact not to say anything. "I trust to your discretion. I need to consult the Ministry and inform the staff, before letting the students know."

"Of course, Headmaster. Goodnight, sir." When Dumbledore had gone, Madam Pomfrey threw a blanket over Severus's head and marched him to a bed that she hid from view with curtains. She handed him a folded pair of white pajamas with blue stripes. "Put these on." Severus thought he caught her lip twitch as she stepped out to give him privacy.

He changed and, not having anything else to do, sat down on the bed. Madam Pomfrey returned and asked him if he had a long list of possible complaints, while he repeated, "No". When she finished, she waved her wand over him and checked his pulse. "Physically you're fine. Do you have any questions?"

Too many to count. "Are my parents still alive?" he asked.

Madam Pomfrey hesitated. "I believe so, but I've gotten the impression you're not on speaking terms with them. You usual spend Christmas holidays at Hogwarts."

He did not find that too surprising. "How long have I been teaching?"

"Sixteen years," Pomfrey answered after another pause to count. "Almost seventeen. I remember you started the same year that Harry Potter..." She trailed off, and Severus looked at her curiously. "I think that's too long of a story for tonight."

The door to the hospital wing opened, and Madam Pomfrey left him to deal with another patient. Severus had nothing to do but lie in bed and think. He wondered if Sirius Black was dead too. Regardless, the Marauders would not be around to bother him anymore. They would have all left school twenty years ago. No more Slughorn. No more Avery. No parents. He had escaped them all. Left them twenty years behind, and Persephone had kissed him. He felt a slow smile creep over his face as he settled onto his pillow. The future was not so bad after all.

oOo

In the morning, he spent a few minutes wondering if his transportation to the future had all been a fantastic dream, but when Madam Pomfrey bustled in with a breakfast tray, her hair was still silver. He sighed with relief and ate quickly. He wanted to explore but knew Dumbledore would want him to stay put.

Luckily, Madam Pomfrey decided to allow Persephone in to see him. "The Fat Friar told me where you were," she explained as she sat down next to his bed.

Severus pulled his covers up, more from nerves than any true need for modesty. "You're the only girl I know who chats regularly with ghosts," he said. He left his hand on the covers in easy reach for her, and she placed her own around it.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, and he could see from her face he was not the only one feeling nervous.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I know the older you chose to drink the potion," she said softly. "But no one asked you if you wanted this."

He shrugged. "Nothing anyone can do about it now."

She looked even more anxious and tightened her grip on his hand. He returned the pressure, and her face relaxed a little. She stared down at their hands. "You have such elegant fingers," she said with a faint smile. "Mine are so short."

"You're short," he said. "They're proportionate." He closed his eyes and laid back on his pillow, enjoying the peaceful moment and the feel of her hand in his. She usually held his sleeve, so this must be some mark of progress. He opened his eyes to find her brow furrowed with worry. "There's nothing wrong with me, you know," he said, sitting back up. "I'm just here as a precaution. I don't think Dumbledore wanted anyone to see me. I guess I'm an embarrassment."

Persephone lifted his hand to her mouth, kissed it, and pressed her cheek to his fingers. The unusual behavior left him discomfited. "I'm fine," he repeated. "It's not like I'm dying."

"I'm sorry," she said, lowering his hand. "I just feel guilty."

"Well, don't," he said irritably. He wanted to kiss her again or scoot over and let her lay beside him on the bed, but they were in the hospital wing. Pomfrey or Dumbledore could walk back in any minute. He settled for touching her hair briefly with his free hand. "Why don't you tell me what I missed? How did James die?"

She tried to explain to him about Lord Voldemort and curse scars. He was disappointed to hear that Lily had died too, but having Magica Amoris fresh on his mind, he was able to explain some of the blood magic to her.

"Are the family ties really that important?" she asked.

"Yes and no," he answered. "Family bonds usually run deep, all the way to the prenatal. And there are certain hereditary things passed down through generations. But love creates a stronger bond than blood. When you have both it—"

"Persephone?" Madam Pomfrey interrupted. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to get Severus ready."

"Right," Persephone said, hopping up. She placed a quick kiss on his forehead and hurried away. Madam Pomfrey patted Persephone's head affectionately as she passed, and this time Severus caught the matron's amused smile.

She placed a fresh set of black robes on the end of his bed and left him to dress. The robes were practically identical to the ones he had found himself in the day before, black, voluminous sleeves, slightly too large for him. Madam Pomfrey had provided him with a mirror and a washbasin. There was a comb and toothbrush he presumed were his.

If anything could be said for his hair, it did not tangle easily. He took a few quick swipes with the comb, which resulted in little change and tossed it back down. He was not the most dedicated brusher but decided this was not a good morning to skip. He applied a dab of paste and caught sight of his crooked teeth in the mirror.

Today they gave him pause. He knew healers could fix teeth, but it had never occurred to him to have his own fixed. He had accepted the fact he was unattractive and made no effort to fight it. The best he hoped for was to be invisible or immaterial like a shadow. It was how he thought of himself. Lucius's shadow. Persephone's shadow. They both knew how to light a room with their smiles. Persephone, Lucius, and the two prefects from yesterday all had perfect teeth. Of course Draco did. He was Lucius's son and probably Narcissa's. She had perfect teeth too. It had never really occurred to him before that this perfection might not be the gift of nature.

Persephone had told him once about the twenty step routine Narcissa went through each morning. It had struck him as a ridiculous amount of effort, and he had assumed it was largely unnecessary. Narcissa would have to go to great lengths not to be beautiful, but maybe he had erred to the other extreme, making no effort at all.

Madam Pomfrey peeked in to check on him. "Everything all right?"

Severus placed the toothbrush back on the table and opened his mouth to show her his teeth. "Can you fix these?" he asked.

Madam Pomfrey looked at him with sympathy. "Of course," she said, sitting down beside him and pulling out her wand. He held his mouth open for her while she nudged his teeth into their proper place. It was very uncomfortable. His mouth grew dry from being open so long. Spurts of pain and a tugging sensation riddled his gums while she worked. After several long minutes, she put her wand down, went to her office, and returned with a bottle of amethyst liquid. She poured it into a cup. "Swish this around but don't swallow." The amethyst liquid stung at first as it washed over his raw gums, but then it became soothing. "Spit," she instructed, sticking the cup under his mouth. He did as told. "See what you think," she said, as she tightened the cap back on the bottle.

Not sure what to expect he pulled back his lips and looked in the mirror. Pomfrey had whitened his teeth as well as straightened them. He hated to admit how much better it looked. He had trained his lips to close when he smiled, so he tried to practice letting a little tooth show.

Madam Pomfrey returned from putting the bottle away and caught him at it. Severus let his face go self-consciously slack, but she smiled with satisfaction over her own work. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that."

Severus tried to smile for her benefit, but the sound of the door opening distracted him.

"Is Severus ready?" the headmaster asked in a heavy voice.

He jumped to his feet, and Pomfrey slung a traveling cloak around his shoulders. "He's all yours, Albus." They gave him a wide bandage to wrap around the lower portion of his face and pulled the hood low to cover the rest. Dumbledore steered him down the hall with an arm around his shoulders towards the teachers lounge.

oOo

Severus sat still and silent at the long conference table, listening and trying to watch the teachers settle in through the gaps in the fabric.

"What's this about, Albus?"

"...I think next year, I'll see how my sixth years handle it..."

"I'd like ter set another lesson under the lake, but I need a fresh batch of gillyweed..."

He knew some of the voices. McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, Nochian, Sprout...she had started during his fourth year and won Lucius over by agreeing not to let him into her Advanced Herbology class.

Others he did not recognize. "Severus, is that you under there?" a witch with dark hair, wearing heavy makeup asked him. He was not sure if he should answer and looked to Dumbledore for instructions, but the headmaster was watching the door.

"I'm afraid Professor Snape may have met with some accident," another witch said in an airy voice. "I was reading the cards at breakfast and..."

"Overheard the Grey Lady tell me he was in the hospital wing," an angular witch interrupted irritably.

The airy witch sniffed in an offended sort of way. "You have your sources, Professor Vector, and I have mine."

Bizarrely, Severus heard the sound of hooves enter the room. "I passed Professor Kotter in the hall. He will be here shortly." It was a male voice but could not get a good look at the speaker.

"Good morning," Professor Binns said as he floated into the room through the fireplace and settled into a comfortable looking armchair removed from the conference table, perhaps as a courtesy to the living or simply some benefit of being dead.

"Is Professor Snape all right?" Professor Sprout asked. His silence and hooded head, coupled with Dumbledore's serious expression had begun to draw their attention.

"We'll be discussing that matter shortly, but I prefer to wait for Professor Kotter," said Dumbledore. Something in his tone killed the other subjects of conversation. The teachers settled into an uneasy silence. A minute later a bearded wizard skidded into the room. "Close the door, please, Daniel."

Professor Kotter did as asked and took the last empty seat. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "Where's Snape?"

"Severus, if you please."

He took this as cue to remove the hood and face bandage. The shock on faces of the staff was clear to see, but rather than show distress or concern for his transformation, most of them seemed to be fighting the urge to laugh, some unsuccessfully.

"Blimey," said Hagrid, before falling silent.

"Oh, my, Severus, what did you do to yourself?" asked Flitwick, whose hair was very white now.

"He took a Younging Potion," Dumbledore explained. A fresh round of snickers circled the table. Some of the teachers were more adept at hiding their amusement than others. Professor McGonagall and the witch with the heavy makeup were giggling behind their hands. "Really, Minerva, this isn't funny," Dumbledore said irritably.

Professor McGonagall did not seem to agree. She gave Severus a fond look. "But, Albus, he's such a bonnie wee babe." The younger witch with the heavy makeup lost the battle with her giggles and laughed openly at this. Severus felt his cheeks grow hot.

Professor Kotter, who appeared to be the youngest Professor in the room beside himself, had a sprinkle of grey in his curly brown beard and drew the attention from the laughing witch by asking, "Has Persephone seen him yet?"

Severus wished he had left her out of this. He could practically feel the dark mood radiating from Dumbledore. "She confessed to brewing the potion," said Dumbledore tersely. He clearly did not approve of the levity.

Professor Kotter raised his eyebrows.

"She didn't..." Hagrid began.

"He took it willingly," Dumbledore continued. "It's unlikely the potion would have worked otherwise. Unfortunately, Severus can not speak for himself as he has no memory of the last twenty-one years. His body and mind have reverted to seventeen, somewhere towards the end of his sixth year."

"So he doesn't have to remember being without her," the angular witch sighed with her hand over her heart.

"Professor Vector..." Dumbledore began, frustration seeping into his voice.

"Forgive us, Headmaster," said the dark haired witch. "We never knew Severus Snape was such a romantic." More of the staff was losing their battle with mirth now. Even Hagrid was grinning at him.

Severus wished the earth would swallow him. Like Dumbledore he was irritated and disturbed that the other teachers were not taking this more seriously, but his scowl and flushing cheeks only served to increase their mirth.

"Professor Sinistra, that is not helpful." Dumbledore stared at his staff with incredulous irritation but attempted to press on without losing his temper. "We need to figure out how we are going to cover the Potions lessons for the rest of the year. I do not have time to interview new staff right now. I may need all of you to dedicate a portion of your free periods." That sobered them a little.

"Why not let him finish out the year?" Professor McGonagall suggested, her tone now business-like. Both Severus and Dumbledore blinked at her in surprise.

"He's a teenager, Minerva."

"The boy was a prodigy, Albus," McGonagal said briskly. "Slughorn was always bragging on him. Said by his fourth year, he could easily teach a seventh year class. I remember some of the conversations we had. Incredible grasp of theory and not just for his age." Severus felt the heat in cheeks rising for fresh reasons. He had never heard anyone refer to him as a prodigy before, and it meant even more coming from Professor McGonagall.

"I know he's clever, Minerva, but what message will that send to the students?"

"That a Younging Potion is not a way to dodge responsibility," Minerva said firmly. "I'm not suggesting you hire him on permanently, but we can hardly turn him out. While he's here, he may as well be useful."

"I don't think you should mention the Younging Potion to the students," Professor Binns said gravely from his armchair. "Every time someone drags that monstrous concoction out there's always a copycat or two, and regrets... No one appreciates how precious their memories are until they're gone." A stir of unease rippled through the room.

"The Daily Prophet will have a field day with it," Professor Kotter added. "News has been slow since last summer, and they're hungry for a scandal. We can't really explain it without exposing Persephone as being the original. I would rather not do that."

"We could tell them there's been an accident," Sinistra suggested shrewdly. She was starting to look familiar to Severus, but he was having trouble placing her. "Severus is always playing about with some potions experiment or other, and this one went wrong. People will snicker over it, but it won't invite the same level of snooping."

Dumbledore's wrinkled brow furrowed into deeper lines and shadows. "I don't like it, but our enemies still lurk. It's best not to give them windows for attack. I had considered declaring Severus Snape dead, but obviously that story won't hold if we have him teaching classes. He might be safer dead." Severus found this a curious phrase. "But certainly more useful living...and far less paper work. However we should remember the Severus we have is only a sixth year. We're asking him to teach lessons he's never taken. It may be unreasonable to expect him to be up to the task."

McGonagall made a dismissive gesture, showing that was the least of her worries. "Professor Snape writes out ridiculously thorough lesson plans for his entire year every summer. All young Severus needs to do is follow them. You can handle that, can't you?"

Severus found McGonagall's gaze aimed sharply at him, and not wanting to disappoint her, nodded.

Dumbledore was considering him less optimistically. "I'd like to try, sir," he said, hoping for some sign of forgiveness. "If it would be less trouble for you..."

Dumbledore's eyes relented as other staff members nodded their approval of the plan. "I expect you to conduct yourself as a Professor, Severus. I remember some behavior issues that I can not tolerate from staff members"

"He was perfectly well behaved when James and Sirius weren't harassing him," McGonagall said impatiently. "Fine young men. I miss them dearly, but we both know they were little monsters back then." Flitwick smiled with sad fondness but also nodded in agreement.

"You think the students now will be easy on him?"

"I'd be able to dock points and give detentions, won't I?" Severus asked. He was feeling a little intimidated by the idea but a little excited too.

Professor Sprout chuckled. "See, he's a natural."

"Aurora," sighed Dumbledore. "I'll have to ask you act as Head of Slytherin House, but keep in mind, this is a trial period."

"As you wish, Headmaster," Sinistra said, sitting a little straighter and trying not to look too pleased with herself. "I'd be happy to cover his afternoon classes, but morning are little difficult for me." The mornings were divvied up among the other professors, who were relieved that their free periods would only be taken for a couple of days.

"So it's settled. Severus, you're temporarily rehired," said Dumbledore. "If everyone would please re-introduce themselves to Professor Snape."

They went around the table, giving their names or explaining their current positions. Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout had all been promoted to head of their respective houses. Severus realized Sinistra's promotion meant he had been head of house too and was now even more confused by his older self.

"Daniel Kotter, Muggle Studies," winked at him with his introduction.

Hagrid was now teaching Care of Magical Creatures, which was no small surprise. Hagrid had scandalized Lucius's court by drinking too much, too often, and one night setting his own bed on fire. Persephone had heard the story straight from the enormous man, who seemed to think the incident funny. Severus reminded himself that was twenty-two years past now, and no doubt Hagrid had sobered up. The only thing more surprising was the centaur, Firenze, who was watching him with a loftily amused expression, too proud to laugh. Severus thought they hated wizards, but the only one in the room who seemed uncomfortable with the half-breed was the other Divination Teacher, the airy voiced Professor Trelawney. And she struck him as rather dotty.

Dumbledore asked for everyone's discretion and abandoned him to Sinistra's care as the meeting broke up. Hagrid stepped over to place a heavy hand on his shoulder and tell him he was welcome to come by his cabin any time if he needed advice or summat. Severus was not sure what summat was but doubted he needed it.

Kotter laughed loudly as he left the room with Noachian and Professor Vector. Professor McGonagall had Severus stand up for her inspection and commented that his robes needed to be taken in. Sinistra said she would see to it.

Trelawney offered to do a card reading for him, but McGonagall walked her out. Sinistra pulled the hood back over his head and guided him out of the staff room. When they reached an empty hallway, she abruptly stopped and hugged him. "Thank you so much, Severus. I was beginning to think I'd have to wait for you to die before I got a shot at head of house. This works out well for both of us, don't you think?"

Severus had no answer for her, but she did not seem to expect one. She guided him down to the dungeons by his shoulders and lead him into a small sitting room with a sort of kitchenette along one wall. "This is your apartment," she said. "I don't think I've been in here before." She looked around curiously, but like the office, there was little to see. Two armchairs faced the fire with a small circular table and lantern between them. The kitchenette was a row of upper and lower cabinets with a sink set into the middle of the counter. The wall facing the cabinets held open shelves full of books and a few odd, very academic looking curios like a globe, a bust of Socrates and another of Merlin acting as book ends, and something akin to a pantograph. The fourth wall was bare stone.

There were two doors in one corner. Sinistra opened one and peaked inside. "Oh, look, more books," she said dryly. Severus, peeked in, rather pleased to see what looked like either a very large closet or second bedroom that had been converted into a proper library. Sinistra opened the second door. "Here's the bedroom. I'm guessing the bathroom is through there, and the closet."

The bed was large and ornately carved. The style reminded him a bit of the dorm beds, and he guessed that piece of furniture at least had come with the apartment. The sheets were black but looked to be high quality. The sitting room fireplace opened into the bedroom as well.

Compared to the narrow, claustrophobic green bedroom that he had grown up in, the apartment was a palace, but like the office, it seemed to lack signs of life. Sinistra pointed her wand at the fireplace and a flame sprang to life behind the grate. "That helps a little." A few lamps had lit themselves when they entered. "I'm going to tell the house-elves to send your lunch in here," she told him. "Why don't you take a little time to explore, and I'll check back in on you a little later this afternoon."

She fluttered out. Severus shrugged off the cloak and sank down on the end of the bed. It seemed clear to him that no one on staff missed him, with the possible exception of Dumbledore. He started to wonder if his classmates had missed him but remembered he had not disappeared during his student days. The twenty years were blank for him, but as far as everyone else was concerned he had been there all along.

There was a small crystal butterfly on the nightstand, half-hidden behind a book, which looked horribly out of place. He knew how it felt.

oOo

The house-elves left a small feast on his counter at lunch time. He fixed himself a small plate and had just sat down to pick at it when there was a knock on the door. He found Persephone and the female prefect, Her-ninny or something, waiting outside.

"Hope you don't mind," Persephone said. "Hermione was worried about you."

"It's fine," he said. The taller girl crept in uneasily, while Persephone closed the door. "Have you been here before?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, no," Persephone said. "Daniel told me how to find you."

"Daniel?"

"The Muggle Studies professor."

"You're on a first name basis?"

"Well, we went to school together. Don't you remember?"

He didn't.

"Daniel Kotter. I guess he looks rather different now, never had a beard in school. He was the Hufflepuff prefect in Narcissa's year. He dated Carlotta Hipworth for a few weeks."

Severus had no idea who Carlotta Hipworth was either.

Persephone smiled at him indulgently. "It's not important," she said and kissed his cheek. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the bushy haired prefect was studying his bookshelf. Persephone captured one of his hands in hers and swung it gently.

He was still not used to this. When the power of speech returned to him, he asked if they wanted a tour. The prefect started and said, "Sure." But they were interrupted by the gurgling of his stomach.

"Eat first," Persephone laughed.

He nibbled his lunch while the girls picked at the food on the counter. The house-elves had only sent one plate. Persephone explained that Hermione was one of Harry's best friends. Severus asked if she was close to Draco too and watched her color rise while protesting that she absolutely was not. "My relationship to Malfoy is more like a...negotiation."

Persephone giggled and dropped into the empty chair. "You fixed your teeth," she observed when he took a wide bite.

"Can I see?" Hermione asked, stepping forward. Severus was not eager to show off, but he preferred her look of curiosity to the wide-eyed fear. He attempted to grin as he bared his teeth for their inspection, but it felt very awkward and quickly closed his lips again. "It looks good," she said.

Persephone insisted on a closer look, pulling his mouth open her thumb, while she leaned over him. Not exactly the sort of closeness he had been hoping for, but her fingers resting against his jaw felt nice. Her head titled to the side. If not for the witness, he might have tried for a kiss. Persephone caught his eye and grinned at him. "They're pretty."

He knocked her hand away with playful irritation.

When the food was gone, he gave them a brief tour. Hermione seemed to envy his room of books. Persephone ran her fingers across the spines as she read titles. "You know I told James about Harfang's, and he and Sirius went without me. Said they found something to help Lupin."

"We could go sometime," Severus suggested.

Persephone glanced at him apologetically. "You told me Harfang died three years ago. Closed the shop long before that."

"How did he die?"

"Natural causes I think. Heart failure. He was near a hundred."

They left the room of books and settled in the bedroom where two additional doors revealed a bathroom and a walk-in closet. The bathroom was very nice. Plenty of marble and gold fixtures, including the toilet. The sink and tub were both oversized. The girls set about inspecting the few bottles they found by the mirror.

"I don't see any facial cleanser," Hermione commented.

"There's soap," Severus said pointing out a bar.

Hermione nodded as though understanding something. "Is this what you use for your hair?" she asked, and Severus shrugged. She exchanged a glance with Persephone. "I think I could find you something that works a little better for your skin type."

Severus bit down his usual retort and shrugged.

"I'll ask Lavender what she uses. She has..." the prefect trailed off uncomfortably.

Persephone stepped over to him and put a hand on his robes. "I can fit these for you," she said. "You were a little taller before." She gave him a shy smile. "I guess you will be again, but I can always let them out."

"Go ahead," he said.

She pulled out her silver wand and studied him. "Tayloris." A golden light shot from her wand to circle him. His robes shrunk up and fit more comfortably. Persephone's eyes traveled over him approvingly.

"Doesn't that spell weaken the fabric?" Hermione asked.

"A bit," Persephone admitted. "But more when you lengthen than when you shrink them. And if you're careful with the thread distribution it's not noticeable." She took a bit of Severus's sleeve in hand and tested it. "See it's fine. If I did it a lot, it'll get brittle, but they should be fine if all I do is let them back out to their original length."

Severus thought having robes that fit helped him look a little taller and less like a limp blanket, so he asked Persephone if she'd adjust the rest of his wardrobe. He trusted her to do it more than Sinistra. There were no clothes in the closet. They discovered those in a large wardrobe. His socks, underwear, and sleeping garments were neatly folded in the dresser. He had to wear the robes for her spell to work, which made the process tedious. After two more outfits, they agreed to save the rest for another day.

The closet was full of boxes and odd items, which finally yielded some of the signs of life he had been hoping to find. They dusted them off. Opening one from the furthest, dark corner yielded the sad remnants of his childhood. A toy wand that still emitted yellow sparks when flicked. "That's all it does." A grey stuffed cat that he had no memory of ever playing with. A collection of rocks and odd found items like rusty screws that he remembered thinking very fascinating at age five, but now simply looked like a box of rocks.

Another box held letters that he decided to go through later. They spent a quarter of an hour trying to find the keys to unlock two sealed strongboxes. The keys were found in a smaller box. Inside the strongboxes were a collection of items, many marked with runes, that Hermione believed to be minor tools of dark magic. Severus concurred with her, and they locked the boxes back up without touching the contents. They made him uneasy.

There was a box of tools, a box full of ink bottles and stationary, a box of cufflinks, a hat which he doubted had ever been worn, a box of games including a Muggle chess set, a deck of Self-Shuffling playing card, and a set of Gobstones, a box of Spellotape and other magical bonding agents, a box containing a very pretty silver instrument that he could not recall the purpose of, a box with a shiny pair of dress shoes and another with neatly folded dress robes, black of course, both of which he guessed were too seldom worn to be kept with his other clothes.

"This one seems to be full of blank journals," Hermione said, passing one of the books over for his inspection. It was green with a cloth binding. The box she had pulled it from contained what looked to be about ten identical journals. Maybe he had found them on sale. Severus flipped it open to see if the paper was lined and found it full of writing.

"I thought you said these were blank?"

"They are. See." Hermione held up another book. The page she showed him was also filled with his cramped handwriting.

For a second, he thought she was having a go at him but quickly realized the books must be enchanted so only he could read them. To test the theory, he asked Persephone what she saw. She stopped playing with the stuffed cat and twisted to look. "Blank page. Why? What do you see?"

"Writing," he said. He flipped back to the first page and read the title.

The Memoirs of Severus Snape

"Seriously?" he muttered. When had he become pretentious enough to use the word Memoirs? No wonder he had enchanted them to be unreadable.

"What does it say?" Both girls looked curious.

"Journal of some kind," he muttered, sticking it back in the box.

To their credit the girls did not pry for details, though Hermione suggested they might help recover some of his memories.

"Professor Binns said no one appreciates how precious their memories are," Severus said sardonically. Hermione blanched, and Persephone patted his back. They must have thought he was upset, but he more bemused by the idea that he had started keeping a diary. What was the point of writing something down if you had no plans to share it?

"Excuse me. Be right back," Persephone said, before slipping into the bathroom.

Severus watched Hermione put the lid back on his box of Memoirs. "What was I like?" he asked her.

She looked up sharply and seemed to be made uneasy by the question. "Well...you were very...intelligent, and—"

"Seriously, what was I like?" Severus asked. He suspected he would get a more honest answer from her than Persephone. Not that Persephone would lie, exactly, but she thought Moaning Myrtle was pleasant company.

"You were a little mean, honestly," Hermione admitted. "I understand why a little better now. But you took your issues out on people who didn't deserve it. You picked on Harry because he looks like his father. You picked on Neville because he's a slow learner. You picked on me...I don't know why the hell you picked on me. But a teacher shouldn't say the things you did. I used to think it was because I'm Muggle-born, but..."

"I don't care about that," Severus said lamely.

Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You were a Death Eater. I know you stopped and started spying for the Order, but—"

"Wait! I was a spy?!"

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "Hasn't anyone told you?"

Severus shook his head. "I was in the hospital wing all night. Persephone told me a little about Voldemort and Harry, and I remember hearing a little about the Death Eaters...back in my own time, but..." Persephone emerged from the bathroom. "I was a spy?!"

She stopped open mouth and looked from him to Hermione. "I did tell you it was a long story..."

"You weren't all bad," Hermione said quickly. "I mean over all I'd say you're a good teacher. Consistent and you kept us challenged. You certainly know your subject. You just favor Slytherin a little too much." Severus frowned. He had thought Hermione was a Slytherin prefect, but her comments made that seem unlikely. Muggle-born. "But you did save Harry's life, and I know you tried to save Sirius even though you two hated each other and..."

"I thought you were a very good teacher," Persephone said, sitting down behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Hermione's lips tightened into a thin line. Severus was starting to like her, but at the moment, he wished she was far away. Persephone was oblivious to the awkwardness she was causing and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Did they figure out who was going to cover your classes?"

"Oh, they're going to let me finish out the year," Severus said, trying to sound casual.

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Persephone squeezed his shoulders. "That's fantastic!"

Severus was not so sure it was all that fantastic. From the sound of it, most of the students hated him. "Sinistra is going to cover the next couple days, then they're going to let me try. Professor McGonagall said all I had to do was follow the lesson plan." He remembered something that made him a little less nervous. "She said I was a prodigy."

Hermione actually looked a little jealous over the last bit.

"It's mainly review at this point, right?"

Hermione nodded. "I'll help anyway I can," she said.

Severus blinked at her. "Why?" he asked.

Hermione looked at her hands nervously. She seemed to be struggling, so he decided to throw her a bone.

"It's obvious you and Draco helped her make the potion," he told her. "I think Dumbledore knows too, but they've decided to tell everyone it was an accident. I just don't understand why you're involved."

"I was trying to help," said Hermione, looking sadly at him. She paused again, trying to gather her words before speaking. "Every time we haven't trusted you, you pulled through. But when I saw Persephone kiss you, I went straight to the worst conclusion, and I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I thought I could help fix things, but I think I just made a bigger mess."

"You kissed him?" he asked Persephone.

"I kissed you," Persephone said, letting her arms slide off his shoulders.

"When I was thirty-eight," he said. He stood up to stand against the wall with his armed crossed. One little kiss, he might dismiss, but the puzzle pieces were falling together. The winks, the knowing smiles, her increased physicality with him, his own willingness to toss out twenty-years and a respectable career, so they could be together. There had been more going on than one innocent kiss. He felt betrayed and unreasonably jealous. His mind flew back to his first moment in the office. She had not been kissing him like that. She had been kissing him like that. "Don't you think that's a little creepy? A thirty-eight-year-old professor kissing a sixteen-year-old student."

Hermione looked flustered. "Normally, yes. But it's not a typical situation. It's not like you were molesting her. You grew up together, and she'd been kidnapped."

"Severus, you were still you," Persephone said gently.

"No, I wasn't!" he shouted. "I'd never use dark magic! I'd never—!" But apparently he had. Persephone was up in an instant. Her arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly. "I'm not him... How could you...?" But his arms tightened around her shoulders, he needed the comfort too much to resist her.

"I think you two need to talk without me here," Hermione said, getting to her feet. Severus was both grateful and nervous to see her leave.

He buried his face in Persephone's hair. That giant, enormous, evil black bed with the boxes scattered across it was staring at him, and he was afraid to ask her what he needed to know.

"I know how hard it is," she said, softly, her ear pressed against his heart. "It's why I tried to stop you. You've been taken from everything you know, and everyone you know is gone. But you were here for me, and I'll be here for you."

Severus laid his head back against the stone. Sometimes she understood him so well, and other times she got him all wrong. "You didn't turn into someone awful."

"You weren't awful. You were extraordinary," she murmured. "You only became a Death Eater because you were looking for me, and you did a lot of other good things that you couldn't tell anyone about because you had to keep your cover. You were stern like McGonagall, but you really cared about your students. And you..."

"You miss him," Severus said, not sure if he liked that or not.

She stepped back and looked up at him. "He was you," she said stubbornly. "You were inside him. There was just more of you. You were a little taller, and a lot more experienced. And you seemed so sure of yourself. You're voice was...everything seemed like it would be okay as long you were talking to me."

"You were in love with him?" he asked, feeling heavy.

"Course, I was..."

He crossed back over to sit on the edge of the bed. "And now what? I'm less than he was? You'd rather have some pervy old Professor after you?"

Persephone rolled her eyes and exclaimed in French, "Arrêter d'être s'insupportablement stupide!" She sat down on the bed beside him with an annoyed look. "You were a thirty-eight year old virgin. I think that's about as un-pervy as they come. We had one decent kiss, and you kicked me out of your office for five months, because it was inappropriate. You told me I should be with a boy my own age, and now you're my own age, so could you please stop! I love you. I've been smitten with you since the first time we talked, and I'm even more smitten with you now, and most men would like to know they'll still be attractive when they get older."

He knew what she was saying made sense, that he should be flattered, and he was relieved to know the relationship had not been more physical. At the same time, he was afraid to trust it. Had she really been hiding her feelings from him that long or was she rewriting history because they were stuck together now? "I don't know what to think."

Persephone turned his face towards hers. "We don't have to be together like boyfriend and girlfriend if that's not what you want, but you're still my best friend, Severus. I love you. I'm here for you however you want me to be. But I'd like to be your girlfriend."

She looked so sad and scared, he knew he was bungling things. He wished he could get his words to work. He tried to think what Lucius would do, but Lucius was very careful about keeping private moments private. Above all, it's your duty to protect a lady's reputation...but that was not helpful right now. The evil bed was throwing suggestions at him, but that only made him ashamed of himself. If she could see some of the thoughts he kept hidden away, she probably would call him pervy and be done with him, but maybe not...she had just told him about as pointedly as she possibly could that she wanted to be his girlfriend. There was quite a bit he would like to do with her that was not pervy at all, just boyfriend and girlfriend stuff.

Shoring up his courage, he tried to close the remaining distance between them. Persephone relaxed. She closed her eyes and offered her lips in anticipation. He was almost there when a pounding at the door interrupted him. He cursed rather badly, which caused Persephone to look at him with a shocked expression. He glared in the direction of the door, wanting very badly to hex the person on the other side. Persephone defused him with a quick kiss and hopped off the bed. He slipped his hand in hers and held it to keep calm as they returned to the sitting room.

Sinistra smiled at them as she entered, eyes sliding down to their clasped hands. "Sorry to interrupt." Feeling embarrassed, he released his grip.

"Hermione and I were helping Severus find everything," Persephone said quickly. "But Hermione had to go."

Severus did not like the way Sinistra was smiling at them. "I was just checking in, but I see you already took care of your robes. Well, I'll leave you be. Just don't sleep here, Sephi. I'm on probation as Head of Slytherin House. Need all my students in their own beds."

"I think I ought to go," Persephone said. "I'll come back in the morning before class." She squeezed past Sinistra, who shut the door behind her.

"Don't look at me like that, Severus," Sinistra said breezily. "She'll be back. I broke into your office and found your lesson plans. I've already copied down what I need for tomorrow." She handed him a bound notebook bearing the Hogwarts crest. He was curious enough to stop feeling angry at her. "You don't recognize me, do you? We overlapped for a few years in Slytherin. I was in Bellatrix Black's dorm."

"I thought you looked familiar," he said, flipping open the planner. He found the date and cursed again. "I forgot her birthday."

"Better watch that tongue while you're teaching," Sinistra clucked. "Little Sephi turns seventeen, doesn't she?" She paused and looked at him. "I understand why you did it, Snape. I do. It was dumb, selfish, and probably unnecessary, but if I could be young again..." She shook her. "I'd probably still make the same stupid mistakes, but you're a lot smarter than I am. You'll be fine."

oOo

When she left, Severus read over the lesson plan, skimmed through the box of letters, and tidied up the bedroom. In one of the boxes he had yet to open, he found his vault key and a ledger of his account at Gringotts. His eyes widened as he realized that he had far more money than he could ever have dreamed in his youth. He doubted it would have impressed Lucius, but it made him feel less worried about what he was going to do when the term ended. At least his older self had provided well for him.

Less angry and more curious, he decided it might be a good idea to see what else his older self had left behind, and settled onto the bed to read the first Memoir.

The Memoirs of Severus Snape

I am making this record to act as my testimony if I should die before the true history of the Death Eaters can be laid bare before the public. I give some of my personal history in hopes that it will explain my motivations, but I make no attempt to justify my actions or in actions. Let it stand as my confession and my warning to other foolish young men. This is not a bed time story for children. There is no happy ending or tidy moral. There is only a lull, a respite while the enemy lurks close out of sight, waiting to return. And when this murderer of hope and reaper of souls returns, I must meet him with the guise of a friend and call him master. It is my lot and my penance, even though his name has become like bile to my tongue.

I was born, which may go down in history as my first mistake...

Severus put the book down, not sure how much more he could take. There was a whole box full of these?

The house-elves had sent up some dinner for him. He changed into his night clothes, fixed another plate, and brought it back to his bedside table. He was going to need nourishment to make it through. He skimmed through the first several pages, since he was already familiar with the history in them. His older self made connections between events and news articles that he had missed, but then hindsight lent clarity. He had not had the benefit of the Death Eater's bragging.

Slowly he became engrossed as he read his own history over the next several hours. He began to understand the how and why, sometimes recognizing that he would have made similar choices, but it still felt like he was reading the words of a stranger. It was frustratingly obvious to him that Narcissa was behind Persephone's kidnapping, but he realized he only knew this because she had told him she had been held captive in a painting. Narcissa had claimed to have just finished a painting of Persephone on the same day she had been taken. Only an hour or so after his own memory stopped, after she had said yes to going to the dance with him.

As friends or like a date?

Like a date. He had felt so brave for saying it.

Persephone had smiled at him, so sweet and excited. Yes! Yes, of course! I'd like that. I have to go meet Narcissa, but I'll come back, and we'll talk about it. Wait for me?

And apparently he had waited...for twenty years. It was sad. Not just in a tragic way, but pathetic.

He had worried a little about Persephone's propensity for denial, which had become so strong over the past couple of years. Despite the increasing evidence, she refused to acknowledge her own talent as a Seer. But he had not tried to break her of it, because he knew it allowed her to function and keep her bright smile. Apparently he had been more like her than he realized, he had been able to shut down, ignore the evidence, refused to consider the possibility that she had stopped existing, so he could function.

He did understand one thing about his forgotten self that he doubted anyone else did. It was not some need to possess her that had drove this obsession, but the need for her to exist. If she was existing somewhere, even if it was far away with someone else, there was hope left in the world. She had become such an embodiment of everything good for him that he had come to believe goodness lived and died with her. This exaggeration of her importance had no doubt been cemented by the fact that the war which followed in the wake of her disappearance had indeed made the world much darker.

Removed from it, safe in a soft bed with the warm glow from the lantern, Severus could see the folly of it. Persephone was special, but putting the responsibility for all his happiness on her shoulders was unhealthy.

It was extremely late when he finally put the book down and fell asleep on the pillow. He answered the pounding summons to the door the next morning with bleary eyes. Persephone met him with a kiss and a hug, and despite the lack of sleep, he felt refreshed. They shared breakfast before Persephone left for class, but she returned for lunch and again when her classes were done. They finished exploring the apartment and transfiguring his wardrobe. He allowed her to change some of his shirts from black to white. They were mostly obscured by the long black robes he pulled over, but she insisted the contrast was an improvement. His entire wardrobe was black except for one inexplicable green sweater, so figured a third color could not hurt. She kept sneaking him quick kisses until he grew comfortable kissing her, and they sat on the bed, uninterrupted for several minutes doing nothing else.

He told her about the Memoirs, and at her behest, read a portion out loud. There was nowhere else to sit close together. The chairs were too far apart, and the stone floor too uncomfortable. So they stretched out on top of the covers of the oversized bed. Persephone sat against the headboard with a pillow propped behind her back. She encourage Severus to lay his head on her lap, so she could stroke his hair while he read. It was very comfortable.

He understood a little better why Sinistra had thought it necessary to tell Persephone not to stay the night. He was in no hurry for sex, but it would be easy to curl up and sleep close together.

oOo

Tuesday morning, after another long night reading, he was awoken early by Professor McGonagall. She waited in the sitting room, while he changed into his fitted day robes. "Much better," she said. "Have a seat, Severus, I have something important to discuss with you. The Wizarding Examinations Authority has determined that your previous N.E.W.T. scores are now invalid, since you are significantly younger than when you first took them."

Severus could see the logic but did not like it. "I'm guilty of my crimes, but not my accomplishments?"

"As far as I'm concerned you're not guilty of anything, but Dumbledore had decided you will have to take the exam this year if at all."

It took a second for Severus to realize what she said. "This year? But I'll be missing a whole year of material."

"You'll have to study on your own," said McGonagall. "Obviously, I'm not too worried about your Potions exam. You can prepare for it while you're reviewing the seventh year students. I can help you order the necessary texts, and of course the library will be open to you."

"But the tests are less than a month away," he protested weakly. It was better than not being allowed to take them at all, but the prospect of having his ten 'O's replaced by 'A's or worse was disheartening. If he spent all his free time reading, he might get through the textbooks, but spellwork required practice.

Professor McGonagall gave him a secretive smile. "I understand, Severus. You need more time." From her pocket she pulled out a long chain with an hourglass pendant and held it up for his inspection. "Do you know what this is?" He had a suspicion but was afraid to guess. "It's a Time-Turner," McGonagall said, and he could almost feel his heart skip a beat. "I may have fudged the truth a little to get it, but I'm going to trust you, Severus."

She explained how the Time-Turner worked and reviewed all the laws regarding it. He knew quite a bit already, having eagerly read several books on the subject, but schooled his face into a docile and attentive expression. He was afraid that if he seemed too eager she would deny him the treat. After extracting his solemn vow to follow the rules, observe secrecy from everyone including Persephone, and only use it to make time to study around his teaching duties, she handed the Time-Turner over. He slipped it around his neck and tucked it into his robes. Time travel. On top of everything else, he was going to get to experience time travel. This was more exciting than discovering kissing.

McGonagall tried to give him a few tips on maintaining order in the classroom and helped him fill out an order form for the textbooks he needed. He was almost sorry to see her go when breakfast arrived. "Professor Sinistra will come around at four o'clock to take you to see the headmaster," she told him. Severus was too nervous to ask why.

oOo

Persephone turned up with Hermione after the first period. Hermione had the morning free, and Persephone had finished her only class for the day. He told them about needing to retake the N.E.W.T.s but kept the news about the Time-Turner to himself as he had promised. Professor McGonagall was trusting him.

The girls had brought several bottles and a Quidditch magazine with them. He eyed them warily. Hermione identified them as facial cleanser, toner, shampoo, conditioner, and bubotuber cream. "They're designed specifically for oily skin types," Hermione explained. "I hope you're not offended, but I thought...well, teenagers usually have more acne issues than adults. What your adult self had might not be right for the skin you have now."

"I've used the cream before," Severus admitted, a little relieved to see it. The last thing he needed was a break out when he had to face the class tomorrow.

"This stuff smells better than what we used," Persephone told him cheerfully. "I got Draco to give me one of his bath bars too. It's moisturizing, exfoliating, and deodorizing." Both Severus and Hermione stared at her as she pulled out a small, shiny, dark blue box that included what looked to be gold foil on the packaging. "Don't you think Draco smells good?" she asked Hermione.

"I don't get close enough to sniff him!" Hermione protested.

Severus had always figured soap was soap but hoped this would pass quicker if he didn't argue. "What's the Quidditch magazine for?"

"Oh!" Persephone said, looking a little sheepish. "I thought you might like to try a modern hair cut."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing," Persephone said quickly. "I like it. You just...well you have a habit of letting it fall over your face, and at the very least, you ought to brush it back. I think it's adorable, but you sort of hide...and you can't do that when you're teaching a class." Severus liked his hair curtains, but she was right about him hiding behind them. Invisibility was not the best trait for a teacher.

"We might find something to make you look a little older," Hermione suggested. "Or at least more...polished."

His instinct was to stubbornly resist, but twenty years in the future seemed like the time to try new things. Besides it would make Persephone happy. Like Pomfrey she had probably been waiting a long time to tweak him more to her liking. "Fine."

The Quidditch magazine was filled with moving pictures, many of the players sporting what he supposed were the most current styles. He vetoed a few of them right off. Persephone favored the long cuts, while Hermione thought he might look more professional with a short one. While he liked the idea of looking professional, he also liked the idea of Persephone's fingers in his hair and sided with her.

Hermione left them alone to eat lunch with her Gryffindor friends before class. Severus got in a little more kissing practice with Persephone before they shared their meal. After lunch he submitted to her washing and cutting his hair with minimal protest. They took the step stool from the library into the bathroom for him to sit on while she washed his hair in the sink. It was a little hard on his neck, but he found it bearable as her fingers massaged his scalp. The hair cut they settled on was not too dramatic, she simply trimmed the hair between his face and his ears to create long bangs that touched his cheek bones. "We want people to recognize you," she said, using her wand to speed the drying.

He had also assumed shampoo was shampoo, but whatever was in the bottles Hermione had brought left his hair, still sleek, but no longer lank. Persephone admired her work in the mirror, stroking his hair, combing the bangs one way, then the other, and finally letting them fall where they may. "See, you're pretty," she said, resting her hands on his shoulders and smiling like she genuinely believed it.

oOo

Severus would not have used the word pretty, but he was starting to consider the possibility that he might not be ugly.

Persephone ducked back out before Sinistra arrived to escort him to Dumbledore's office. Sinistra made an embarrassing fuss over his haircut but still insisted on guiding him up under the traveling cloak and bandages. Severus was glad for the walk.

They met Dumbledore at the foot of the stairs, and Sinistra left Severus to walk up with him. Dumbledore kept a hand on Severus's shoulder as they road up the spiral stairs. Once inside the office, Severus hung the cloak and bandages on a hook by the fireplace.

Dumbledore settled behind his desk. "You'll forgive me if I was curt with you the other day."

"I understand, sir," Severus said, eager to be back in Dumbledore's good graces. "I'm not as useful like this as I was."

Dumbledore winced and gestured for him to take a seat. "You're not a tool, Severus. But I didn't realize how much like Sirius you are. You both needed to feel useful." Severus took his chair with a scowl. He did not like being compared to Black. Dumbledore chuckled sadly. "I suppose I should abandon any further attempts to get you to understand each other. It seems to be an exercise in futility."

"He tried to kill me."

"He tried to scare you," Dumbledore corrected. "But it could have gotten you killed and left Remus with a permanent scar, I'll grant you that. Perhaps it will comfort you to know he spent nearly twelve years in Azkaban and died at the hands of his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange."

Yes, it did. "He was a traitor. And he killed a lot of other people. It wasn't some prank gone wrong, he was warming up."

Dumbledore raised his hand. "You've been reading up on recent history." He sounded a little impressed, even while his tone said there was more to the story.

Severus explained about the Memoirs, which seemed to be news to Dumbledore.

"I see. Everyone else thought Sirius Black was guilty too, but if you keep reading, you'll discover Peter Pettigrew was the true culprit and not the victim. Sirius Black was a loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix, which is something else I need discuss with you."

"Hermione told me I was a spy," Severus said eagerly.

Dumbledore grimaced and then nodded. "You were. You continued the role until recently, but I think Lord Voldemort ceased trusting you after the assault on Riddle House. He's made a few lazy attempts to kill you since Christmas, but he is attempting to play dead himself which makes killing others difficult. For the last few months I suspect he may have been using you to give the Order false trails to follow. It's impossible to say for certain.

"What I need you to consider now, and don't answer hastily, is if you would like to continue working for the Order of the Phoenix in some capacity. Harry will be leaving school this year, and that may be the opportunity Voldemort is waiting for. I suspect the war will intensify again soon and this peace we're enjoying is only a lull.

"You are more vulnerable now, Severus. Voldemort may mark you as a traitor, or he may attempt to recruit you again. Persephone will most certainly make a target of herself. I won't blame you if you both go into hiding, and if that is your choice, I will help you become well hidden. But Harry is Persephone's only remaining family and will need help. Think on it."

Severus was more grateful than ever for the Time-Turner tucked beneath his robes. This matter might take as much study as the N.E.W.T.s, and somewhere between the two, he was supposed to teach classes.

Only remaining family. "What about her parents?" Severus asked.

"She's an orphan," Dumbledore said somberly. "I'm sure the details will be in your journals."

"Memoirs," Severus corrected automatically, a feeling of loss welling up inside him.

"Memories. Which reminds me," Dumbledore said. "I have a gift of sorts for you." Dumbledore summoned a stone basin and some vials containing a white misty substance to his desk. "This is a Pensieve. It allows me to view memories without the clutter of my other thoughts getting in the way. I don't have time to show you every memory I have concerning you, but I thought a few might be helpful."

Severus nodded, intrigued by the device, though a little worried about seeing what he had been or was going to become. "This is from James," he said uncapping one of the vials and pouring it into the bowl. "He gave it to me when I was trying to weigh whether or not to trust your reform."

Severus eyed the swirling substance uncertainly, while two more vials and some strands from Dumbledore's own mind were dumped into the mix. Dumbledore held out his hand, and Severus took his fingers. "In we go," Dumbledore said, and Severus held his finger tighter as he felt himself pitch head first and fall into the mist.

They landed on the Hogsmeade train platform, familiar students darting all around them. "We're in no danger," Dumbledore said, and Severus realized he had been clutching his hand rather tightly. Embarrassed, he let go and looked about.

He saw himself floating his trunk onto the platform and waiting for his turn to reach the storage compartments. Unlike many of the cheery students around him, he wore a grim but determined expression. "Incidentally, I like your new hair cut," Dumbledore said, and Severus, who had also been studying the other Snape's appearance, smiled in spite of himself. He had always been pale and thin, and this other version was no different. He might have been a little taller, but the hunched posture made it hard to tell. He watched himself shove the trunk into place and shift his backpack in place on his shoulders. The other Snape glanced up, and his grim expression soured. Severus followed his own gaze to see James and Lily sharing a kiss on the train steps.

Lily laughed and ducked back onto the car. James leaned back holding the rails, enjoying his good fortune and apparently waiting for someone. He caught sight of Severus and watched him curiously for a moment.

The Snape of memory pointedly ignored him and started to walk against the flow of students back towards the castle. James dropped back down to the platform and followed him. "Where are you going, Snape?"

Snape stopped and looked at James with unfathomable eyes. "I'm going to search the forest."

James eyes widened with surprise and understanding. When he spoke again, it was with less suspicion. "They already searched the forest."

"Not like I will," the other Snape said, as though daring James to stop him.

Genuine worry and something like respect crept on to James features. "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort took her. He's made a lot of people vanish. I want her to be alive too, but there's been no demands, I think we need to accept that she's probably—"

"No," Snape cut him off. "She's alive, and I'll find her."

James looked at him uncertainly as though debating whether to call someone over. Not willing to wait for his decision, Snape turned away and resumed his determined walk towards the forbidden forest. James stared after him for a moment, face betraying a brief internal struggle and decision. "Good luck," he said, but it was hard to say if the other Snape heard him over the crowd.

The memory melted into white fog and another scene replaced it. Severus saw himself, looking even more bleak and weary than before, a little older, but somehow smaller, clutching a large mug. "Whatteryou doin' out there?" Hagrid asked him, filling the mug with hot tea.

"Looking," this scarecrow version of himself said. Severus realized he looked so small, because everything in the giant's hut was oversized.

Hagrid shook his shaggy head. "You won't do 'er any good gettin' yourself killed."

"I'll do whatever it takes," the other Snape muttered, putting the mug to his lips.

The scene faded and resolved into another room he did not recognize. A woman with a kind, round face stepped forward to shake the hand of his memory self. "Alice Longbottom," she introduced herself in firm but warm voice. "So you're our new information source? I'm grateful. You have no idea how much. Let's look at the map, shall we?"

They stepped over to a map spread out on a square table. Severus noticed there were a few other people milling about in the room, including Dumbledore and Remus Lupin. A couple men with reddish hair who might be brothers were watching him with very skeptical expressions. His older self ignored them. "The attacks are supposed to take place in this area. I know there's at least seven Death Eaters involved, but I'd be more worried about the giants."

"Giants?" someone echoed.

"I couldn't get an exact number, but several of them are coming..."

"We can handle giants," Alice said grimly. "Albus, if you're willing to get directly involved in this...?"

The scene faded and time lurched forward. An older version of himself, clearly taller now that he was standing straight but with the same hair cut, stood in Dumbledore's office with his sleeve rolled up. "It's gone," he said eagerly. "Surely that means he's dead."

"Broken, weak," Dumbledore corrected. "But not dead, Severus. He left a connection to himself on the boy."

"The scar?"

"It's not an ordinary scar," said Dumbledore. Snape's older self seemed to be waiting for him to say more on the subject, but the other wizard was lost in thought. "I ask you to be diligent, Severus. Everyone wants Voldemort to be gone. I suspect even your friend, Lucius Malfoy, is relieved to see that mark fade, but wishful thinking may blind us to the signs."

"They've made a pact not to testify against each other," Severus said slowly.

"You will honor that pact," Dumbledore said.

"And let Bellatrix Lestrange walk free?" Severus spat.

"For now," Dumbledore said cautiously. "Make no mistake, I will welcome and encourage testimony from other sources. It makes me uneasy to have Bella walking free, but if and when Lord Voldemort returns, it will be invaluable if he still trusts you."

His older self was breathing heavily and Severus found he had trouble reading his own expression. "Lucius said he's done with war, he wants to change the world through more legal means. I think you're right that he's relieved, but some of the others...they're nearly as bad as the Dark Lord himself."

"Then we must be watchful..."

The scene faded again and reformed. The room was familiar. The decor told him it was one of the Malfoy's Christmas parties. The version of him that Severus spotted looked so adult and confident, it was hard to believe it was really him.

"Whose memory is this?" Severus asked Dumbledore.

"Emmeline Vance," Dumbledore said, pointing out a stately witch in gold and white dress robes. "She shared this with me while I was doing a little investigating into Lucius Malfoy, tracking his new contacts, but I believe at this point you were both just there for the party. We had a few peaceful years."

A blonde haired boy in pale blue robes about six years old tugged on the long black sleeve of his elder self. "Mr. Snape, I need to tell you something," the boy said in an important voice.

Lucius looked far more adult than he remembered, but Severus thought he did not seem to have aged as much as his older self. Lucius's face had fewer traces of careworn lines and was filled instead with confidence and contentment. He looked down at the boy with a mixture of fondness and strained patience. "It's Professor Snape, Draco, and leave him alone. It's about time your mother put you up to bed."

"It's all right," older Snape said, setting down his glass and having a seat on an expensive looking new couch, so he could look the boy in the eye. "What do you need to tell me?"

Little Draco took this as an invitation to perch himself on the Potions Master's knee, but he spoke in very authoritative voice, clearly attempting to imitate his father's style of speaking. "When I'm older, I'm going to go to Hogwarts, and you'll have to teach me magic."

"I look forward to it," Severus told him as some of the wizards and witches standing nearby chuckled. "Have you decided which house you'll be in?"

Draco's smooth little face creased as he contemplated this. "Which one's the best?" he asked shrewdly.

"You're parents and I were in Slytherin," Severus told him.

"Slytherin then," Draco said with a note of finality.

"I'm considering sending him to Durmstrang," Lucius said. "They just made Igor headmaster."

"You will do nothing of the sort," Narcissa said, stepping up and stretching out her arms for Draco, who flew to them. "Come along, my little dragon, let's put you to bed."

Narcissa was still very beautiful, but Severus found her rather repulsive now. His older self obviously had no clue what she had done, and it made him angry. "Do we have to look at any more of these?" he asked Dumbledore.

"Just one more." He was looking at Severus curiously, as though trying to understand why the party upset him.

The memory of Lucius was introducing an attractive, Egyptian looking witch to him. "Is Lucius alive?" he asked.

"As far as I know," Dumbledore said. "He was sent to Azkaban for a short time around two years ago, but he escaped. He's been in hiding since, though you've had some contact with him."

"He escaped Azkaban?" Severus said, impressed.

"It's fairly easy when the jailors have sided with Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore said dismissively.

The scene finally faded. Severus could tell he was already boring the Egyptian witch.

Now they were in the Hogwarts Potion lab. Dumbledore sat down at a table at the back of the classroom, and Severus did the same. The students shuffled in and took their seat. Severus realized he had not seen anyone in the classroom before they entered and looked at Dumbledore curiously. "Whose memory is this?"

"Mine," said Dumbledore. "I'm right there under a Disillusionment Charm. I feel it helps to make my observations less disruptive."

"Do you do this often?" Severus asked.

"Not often," said Dumbledore. "But I try to get around to everyone once a year or so. Don't expect this memory to be particularly exciting, but I thought it might be helpful to watch yourself teach a class, so you know what the students expect."

Severus nodded and settled in to watch himself teach a class. It was strange. Persephone was clearly insane to find him attractive, but he did have presence. He would have liked to have himself for a teacher. No nonsense, straight to the material. It reminded him a little of Professor Kraft, his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. No one made trouble in Professor Kraft's class. He never let James and Sirius get away with any of their pranks.

"Thank you, sir," Severus said after the memory ended, and they returned to the real world. "I'll try very hard to be a good teacher."

Dumbledore smiled a sad, fond smile at him. "I know you will, Severus."

oOo

Persephone came back to eat dinner with him. Professor Sinistra had helped him order a small cake from the kitchen, so they could have a belated birthday celebration, but his mind was too full to finish his piece. He put his arm around her while they talked about her parents, but the only kiss they shared was when she kissed him goodnight. She left early since he would be teaching his first class tomorrow, and she thought he needed his rest.

Severus did not argue with her, but what he really needed was more time.

He made a chart and fastened on a watch, so he was sure to avoid running into himself. He knew that was important. He took the next two journals from the box, and went into his library before using the Time-Turner. He sent himself back twelve hours. The library had direct access to the bathroom, so it seemed like the perfect place to hide from himself. The only time he had opened the door all day was to fetch the stool. He set the stool near the door and sat down where he would be hidden if it was open.

He spent the whole twelve hours reading with occasional breaks for water and the bathroom. He had to be careful to time those right and cast spells to muffle any sound. Mostly he read the Memoirs, but sometimes he searched the other books for answers to questions that occurred to him. The most exciting time travel incident was when the door flung open, and he glimpsed himself grabbing the stool. By the time it was safe for him to come out again, he was exhausted and hungry. He ate the rest of the left over cake and dropped onto his bed.

He overslept, badly. It was nearly two in the afternoon when he woke. He started to curse but remembered the Time-Turner. He changed into fresh robes, washed his face, and adjusted his white collar and cuffs. The white did make him look a little less pallid. "The new and improved, Professor Snape," he told the mirror. It stared back at him skeptically in response.

Back in the sitting room, he used the Time-Turner to return to early that morning. He reread the day's lesson plan and ate breakfast in his sitting room. Sinistra had offered to unveil him to the school at large that morning, but the idea of the crowd made him nervous. He might have to explain himself over and over to each class, but twenty some odd eyes seemed easier to bare than hundreds at once.

He only had one double class of first years this morning, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. It seemed like a good group to wet his teeth on. As fate would have it, the students were supposed to brew a Forgetfulness Potion. "Funny," he told his older self.

A very groggy Sinistra came to walk him to the Potions Lab. "I'm going to sit in on your first class," she yawned. "My plan is to let you do all the talking, but if you need help—" She yawned again.

He arrived early and sat down behind his desk. With a tingle of anticipation he opened the lesson plan and the corresponding page in the Potions text. The lesson plan had a copy of the Potions instructions, but he realized there was a slight variation. Four clockwise strokes instead of three. He felt a surge of disappointment over the mistake, but as he stared at the planner, he wondered if it was a mistake. Some wizards got very romantic over certain numbers like three and seven, but in this case a fourth stroke might blend better. He decided to trust himself and copied the instructions from the lesson plan onto the board. If nothing else, it would be an interesting experiment.

The first years shuffled into the classroom after the first bell. He glanced up at them. The first few did not seem to notice the change. They were caught up in their own thoughts and conversations or distracted by the presence of Professor Sinistra. He was starting to wonder if any of them were going to notice when a little girl stepped up to his desk.

"Excuse me, sir," she said in a low voice. "Where's Professor Snape?"

He realized he had hunched into one of his invisible postures and straightened up. Think teacher. "I'm Professor Snape," he answered at the same volume, pleased by the sound of the words. The Hufflepuff screwed up her face in confusion. "Have a seat, and I'll explain to everyone in a minute."

By the second bell, all the students were in their seats. The ones that were not busy setting up their cauldrons were staring at him with confused expressions. Severus stood to get their attention and walked in front of the blackboard.

oOo

It was easier than he had feared, though that might have been because the students were too stunned to cause trouble. He spent the first fifteen minutes telling them the official version of what had happened to him, answering a few questions, and taking role to learn their names. He knew how to brew a potion properly and had helped Lucius, Narcissa, Persephone, and more recently Avery and Regulus with their homework so often it felt natural to correct the individual mistakes of the first years.

Most of the first years darted out of the room when the class ended, but a few lingered gathering around his desk to ask questions. "Are you going to keep getting younger?" — "No." — "If you can't remember, does my last test grade still count?" — "Yes." — "Are you sure you don't remember anything?" — "Not from this past year." — "Can you still give detentions?" — "Do you want one?"

His last response earned him a few nervous giggles, so he advised they hurry off to lunch.

The little Hufflepuff girl from earlier lingered after the others. To Severus's distress he saw she had tears running down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" he asked her gently.

"You were my favorite teacher, and now you won't remember me," she said in a small voice.

Inwardly cursing his older self he tried to offer the girl a compromise. "I'll be here for the rest of the year, so I can make a new memory of you."

"But you're not coming back next year," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Maybe you'll like the next Potions Master even better," he suggested, trying to comfort her with practicality.

As she left, he thought it was nice to know that not all the students hated him. "I like how you handled that," said Sinistra. "Let them ask questions, but keep it short and Snape-ish. Routine can be very comforting." Severus resisted rolling his eye as he did appreciate the praise. "Lunch?" Sinistra asked.

"I'm going to eat in my room today," Severus said.

"Very, well," Sinistra said. "I'm going to let you fly solo this afternoon, but call for help if you need it."

oOo

Severus popped down to the kitchens to get some food for lunch and a bit extra for later. He packed it into a satchel along with his lesson planner, the Potions texts, and the next journal.

Alone in his office Severus checked his watch and gave the Time-Turner four turns. He stayed sequestered in the room, reading for a bit, and then deciding to make a thorough search of the office. While there were not a lot of knickknacks, there were a lot of jars, books, and desk compartments. He found the thin green journal he had used to write down Persephone's predictions and saw they were now marked with additional notes citing when they had come true. A remarkable number of them had, which reminded him that he ought to tell Harry about Persephone's dream.

He found several identical oversized envelopes in the bottom drawer, each containing a two inch thick stack of parchment. On further investigation he realized that his older self had written a textbook and was attempting to get it published. "That's so cool," he gasped. So he had been a Potions Master, Slytherin Head of House, a spy, a writer, and apparently completely blind to how ridiculously cool his life was.

In an effort to put his extra time to good use, he read more of the Memoirs he had with him. They were well written, with a love for word play, dry humor, and long sentences that reminded him of a Dickens novel, but they were also angry, cynical, and sullen. He knew he would never be a cheerful little ray of sunshine like Persephone, but he had never thought he was quite this gloomy either. Some passages were so morose, they might have been comical if he did not know they were his future.

When he had thirty minutes to go, he pulled himself away from the Memoir to study the fourth years lesson plans. At five minutes to go, he slipped out before his past self walked in through the other door. He repeated more or less the same routine with the fourth years, though the Slytherins looked even more shocked than the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. He taught the class, answered questions, and ducked back into his office to live the hour over again. This time he slipped out before the bell rang to avoid running into a hallway full of students and waited down a side corridor so he could enter after they had settled.

He decided to enter with a running start, giving a quick version of the Potions accident as he walked down to his desk to face the class. He tried to sound confident and self-assured, but the room of people his own age or older staring back was a little unnerving. The students began to murmur and giggle. He ignored them and focused on his speech. "I hope you will all take this as a cautionary tale. Even the most experienced Potion makers can make mistakes and will if they are not cautious. The consequences of which can be dramatic if not devastating."

"You did that by accident?!" a Hufflepuff girl gasped.

A Gryffindor's round face went white. "Is that even possible?"

"Of course, it's possible." Apparently Hermione was a Gryffindor prefect. Severus thought she was trying a little too hard not to sound guilty. The boy beside her caught his attention. He looked a lot like James, only not quite, and there was a scar barely visible under the hair brushed over his forehead. Harry.

"It's not common by any means," said Draco. He was sitting in the back, looking superior, like Lucius with shorter hair. "But yes, it's possible. He must have been experimenting with some very high level stuff."

"Exactly," said Hermione.

Severus knew Hermione was trying to help, but he was less sure about Draco's motives. He doubted Lucius would have approved of his son negotiating with a Muggle-born, but why. Sure Hermione was pretty and smart, and it could be that simple. But had Draco helped with the Younging Potion to help her or him or his father...or his mother?

Professor Snape realized he was losing momentum with the students. "It's understandable that you all have questions, but I would prefer if we devote class time to the review. Please turn to page two hundred fifty-seven." He walked behind his desk and flipped opened his own copy of the text.

"This is a joke."

Severus located the speaker. "And your name?"

"Terry Boot." Ravenclaw. "Dumbledore can't-"

Severus smiled. It was his first time to dock points. It felt good.

He plunged through the review as outlined in his notes. Hermione was extremely active, but the other students barely spoke unless he singled them out. After class he agreed to answer questions again. Most of them were the same ones he had answered before, but that made them easy to answer again. He dismissed them as the next class entered, but the boy that looked like James stepped close.

"Could I talk to you later?" he asked, looking very serious.

Severus told him that they could talk now and led him into his office, where he closed the door and warded it against eavesdroppers. Harry might have looked like James, but Severus found he reminded him more of Lily. Considering the number of shocks he was no doubt giving him, Harry rolled with them fairly well. Severus found him a little slow (which he made allowance for considering the shock) but comfortingly mature. Like Lily he listened, and like Lily he cared.

After Severus had finished answering a few questions and warning him about Persephone's nightmare, Harry asked, "Is it weird? Being here, now?"

"Weird would be an appropriate word," said Severus. "You know, the strangest part has been reading through those memoirs, the journal left by my older self. It's strange because there's this man with my name. And he's me, but then he's not me. He was a miserable, bitter man, who went through hell and dragged it around with him." He gave Harry an apologetic smile. "I heard he gave you a rather hard time of it."

"A bit."

"Sorry…you know maybe I should be scared about the Death Eaters and war and all that, but they don't seem real yet. What frightens me—what really frightens me—" And he had not quite put his finger on it until that moment. "—is that I'm going to have to turn into him all over again."

"You won't," said Harry.

He sounded so confident. "How can you be sure?"

"Because it frightens you," said Harry. "Because your choices make you what you are. Because I think he wrote all that down, so that people like him wouldn't have to go through it, and you're not stupid enough to waste the effort."

Severus hoped not. Getting a pep talk from a boy who looked so much like James was a little weird, so he fished for a different subject. "So, you play Quidditch?"

"Yeah," Harry smiled. "I'm the Gryffindor Seeker."

Severus smiled and looked out the window again. "I wanted to try out for Seeker. I was getting pretty decent at it. Lucius always made me play that position over the summer, because I couldn't throw or hit worth anything."

"Why didn't you?"

Severus shrugged. "Persephone hates Quidditch."

Harry frowned. "She told you not to try out?"

"No, she never said a word about it." She had started a fight once by telling James she thought Severus was a better Seeker, but she had never discouraged him from playing. He had simply thought he'd be unable to bear bringing a terrified look on her face every time he went out to play.

"Then why — Are you in love with her?"

"I don't know," said Severus. He wished people would stop asking that. It was private. "Everything's happened so fast. I'm still a little disoriented." At the same time, he wanted Harry's opinion. "I fancied her a bit when we were students together, but I'm a teacher now. Wouldn't exactly be proper, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," Harry agreed so quickly Severus felt his insides coil up defensively. There was a tense silence between them, which Harry broke with a forced smile. "Bet you're the youngest Professor Hogwarts has ever had."

It was obvious attempt to change the subject, but Severus welcomed it. "I had been hoping, but apparently not. They had a ten-year-old prodigy teaching Charms about three hundred years back."

"Seriously? I bet there was interesting story behind that."

"Yes, there probably was."

Harry blinked at him as though expecting more.

"I found it in a book of records," Severus explained. "It didn't give details."

"Guess I'll get going," said Harry.

When Harry left, Severus went over his notes for the last class of the day, keeping an eye on his watch. At the right time, he spun the Time-Turner back one hour and went to teach a class of second years.

oOo

He was very tired by the time the last class let out. His past self should have left his bed empty by now, so he returned to his apartment and laid down without undressing. He had not been sleeping long when a knock woke him. He decided to ignore it and went back to sleep, but not before setting an alarm to wake him in six hours.

Six hours later, he awoke, rubbed his eyes, walked into his sitting room, turned the Time-Turner back six hours, double checked that the bedroom door hid his sleeping past self, and answered the door.

Persephone poured in and hugged him. He squeezed her shoulders and said, "Let's sit in here for a change."

She did not object. "You have to tell me all about your first day teaching."

He recounted it for her as briefly as possible and encouraged her to do her homework while he read over his lesson plans for the next day. She opened her book bag, but it was hard to say if she got anything done. She kept asking him questions, which was distracting. Eventually she perched herself on the arm of his chair and played her fingers through his hair. It might have been nice if he wasn't trying to concentrate on the Potion Instructions he needed to teach the third years. The deviations from the book were more dramatic, and he needed to understand why they were there before he tried to teach them. Persephone slid her hands to rub his hunched shoulders, and his body and brain began arguing with each other. "Persephone, I need to work on this," he pleaded.

"Sorry," she said, returning to her own chair. Now he couldn't think at all. She sat staring at the fire with a book in her lap.

"Don't you need to get your homework done?" he prompted.

"I don't see how it matters," Persephone said. "We're both expelled right?"

"Why don't you ask Sinistra if you can take the N.E.W.T.s this year?"

She looked slightly intrigued by the idea. "I'm probably not ready," she said.

He knew the feeling, but he was a prodigy with a Time-Turner. "If you can pass a few that's better than not getting any N.E.W.T.s levels at all right?" She considered this. "It worth a try."

"You're right," she said. "Worst I can do is fail."

"Worst you can do is not try," he corrected, and she smiled at him. Severus shook his head and tried to focus on his lesson plan. What would she do if he didn't look out for her?

She picked a different book from her bag and started humming. He was used to studying in the common room, so the humming was easier to tune out. He had almost puzzled out the Potions problem when she asked, "What do you want to do this summer?"

Severus made a quick note before he lost the thought. "I need to get through tomorrow first." He knew they needed to have that discussion so he added, "We'll talk about it when exams are over, okay? But I can't let Dumbledore down. Not anymore than I already have."

"Your parents are alive," said Persephone.

"They disowned me," Severus muttered, trying to get back to his Potions problem and making a note before he lost his train of thought.

"You told me it was because you took the Dark Mark."

"So?"

"You've never taken the Dark Mark."

Severus scowled at her. She was undermining his perfect escape.

"I'd like to see them again," said Persephone. Of course she did. They liked her. He had her over once last summer, when his father had forbidden him from going to the Malfoy Manor anymore, and she absolutely charmed them.

His father had actually smiled at him when she left. Better hold onto that one, Severus. You're not going to do better. His parents had trouble understanding the distinction between girl who is a friend and girlfriend.

Then again he doubted his father thought he would become Head of Slytherin House or realized he was a prodigy. "I'll write them," Severus said to head off a longer discussion. Slytherin girls were good at getting their way. Besides he did not entirely dislike his mother.

"Would you like me to make some tea?" Persephone asked.

"Yes," he said hoping it would keep her busy. It did for a while. She found all she needed in his cabinets and used a crane and trammel to set the kettle over the fire. He managed to finish the third year Potions problem before she set the steaming cup beside him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." To his relief, she finally settled into reading one of her school books.

He put his work away when dinner arrived. Since the table was small, they shared a plate, and Persephone took every opportunity to brush her hand against his. It was kind of nice but frustrating at the same time. He wanted to sit closer to her but trying to squeeze into the same chair would have been a little too intimate.

He told her he was going to bed early to make sure they were both out of the room before his past self walked in from the bedroom. She kissed him goodnight, but he kept it short so they would not lose track of time.

He sequestered himself in the library until nearly eleven working out a Time-Turner plan.

oOo

Author's Note: I was wrong about something. This level of the story does have a grand theme. It's love. Now, you may think like I first did...well, duh, it's a romance. But really much of the story has been about Snape trying to find balance between his love for Persephone, his love for Dumbledore, and (in the flashbacks) his love for Lucius. In Greek terms, they're symbolically Eros (romantic), Agape (higher love), and Philios (friendship).

Getting Persephone back, while it made him happier and brought some closure, didn't quite complete him. I think young Snape is starting to understand the importance of loving yourself.

There's also Storge (natural/familial), but the lack of that goes a long way towards explaining all his issues, both in this story and canon.