'… Mr Potter! Wake up, Mr Potter!' Professor Clearwater shrieked from just above James' ears. For a moment the boy was sure he'd go deaf.

'I'm up, Professor, I swear!' said the boy as he blinked rapidly, trying to come to terms with his dream — and what a strange dream it had been.

His eyes drifted to Severus Snape, who was scowling down at his teacup, probably trying to figure out whatever his leaves were supposed to mean. James knew better than to force some meaning out of tea. He touched his neck absentmindedly, trying his hardest not to burst into tears as he recalled the last events of his dream.

That slimy snake of Voldemort's, the bastard, had bitten Severus Snape.

'Dozing out, are we?' Professor Clearwater said mockingly, pulling him out of his thoughts. 'Perhaps your third eye has been opened during our lesson, Mr Potter?'

James bit back the urge of ranting all that he had seen to Clearwater, he doubted Snape of all people would appreciate him telling what a tragedy his life was to be. Besides, Clearwater had some nerve to be teaching Divination and act like an utter bitch the second someone had a vision during it.

'Prongs already lacks two properly working eyes,' said Sirius as he snickered from his right side. 'Never mind a third one, Professor.'

The raven-haired turned to his best friend and sighed. Sirius was still just fifteen. He wouldn't know his acts this year would be the beginning of somebody's demise. He tried not to scowl when he remembered Sirius' attitude to Snape when they met in the future after his mate's escape.

God, Sirius had escaped from Azkaban. James didn't know about anyone that had successfully got out from there that wasn't in a coffin. Sirius had got out to kill Peter, avenge him, and see Harry.

But Merlin — Harry. Harry, his future son, was going to grow up as an orphan and groomed to be a war weapon by Dumbledore. He remembered how manipulative the headmaster had been towards Snape and Harry, and literally almost everyone willing to fight for their side.

And James was probably the only one who knew about what was going to happen in the future. That there would be two wars in Wizarding Britain in twenty years.

James had to make things right; for Snape, for Evans, for Sirius, for Remus, for Remus' future child and wife, for even the git of Regulus Black who left Severus broken-hearted in the midst of a war, for Harry.

He eyed the boy that sat on his left, Peter Pettigrew, and bit the inside of his cheek to not bite the other's head off. James then recalled the First Wizarding War he had seen from Snape's very own eyes. The war that ended with his and Lily's death. He shivered at the thought.

He wondered when Peter had decided his friends weren't enough, that they were not worth fighting for.

'Mate, are you alright?' Remus asked from his seat behind him, touching his shoulder in that gentle way that almost made him want to cry. He didn't know if Remus had survived the last war, Snape's last war at least.

Things weren't alright at all, but that was okay. He still had time to change things.

'Yeah,' James said in an almost inaudible whisper. 'Don't worry, Moony.'

Sirius looked at him strangely for the rest of the class. James couldn't meet Sirius' eyes and not feel the need to hug him as tight as he could.

As soon as the bell rang, James decided a conversation with Snape was in order. He wanted to apologise for being a spiteful git for so long. He still hadn't stripped him of his clothing in front of the entire school, so maybe there was hope for him, for them.

Divination had been the last class of the day and he excused himself from his friends as he walked towards the library, where he expected to see Snape and Evans studying together.

And he had been right. The moment he entered he caught the both of them arguing in hushed whispers.

'Lily, Divination was horrible I'm switching back to Ancient Runes!'

'But — god, Sev, I'll be alone in that class! It's one subject we could share!'

Snape looked up at Evans with a weary expression on his face.

'Lil's, you don't even like Divination. I know they separated us last year, but I'm pretty sure we'd have Ancient Runes together this year. Rosier has been complaining about the Gryffindors in the class already.'

Evans' eyes hardened at the mention of Rosier. 'You talked to him?'

Snape sighed.

'It's hard not to when he is my roommate.'

An image flashed in James' head, a memory that was unknown to him. Snape was under an older Evan Rosier, crying as he had his hands pinned to the ground and Rosier –.

James fell with a thud.

Snape and Evans whipped both of their heads in his direction. Snape scowled and Evans rolled her eyes.

'Have you never heard about private conversations, Potter?' asked the redhead.

Snape's eyes widened and tugged Evans' sleeve slightly.

'Potter, what the hell?'

But James could not face him, he couldn't talk, he barely could move. He just stayed on the ground as his hand gripped the bottom shelf that was nearest to him.

'Jesus, he's crying,' Evans muttered. Snape summoned a tissue and gave it to her. She grimaced. 'I'm not giving him anything, it probably is one of his many attempts of flirting.'

Snape shook his head and contemplated the tissue. He then looked at James. 'Potter, this is a library for god's sake.'

A tissue was more or less thrown at him, and Evans raised his eyebrow when no retort came from his mouth. James' eyes were still on Snape.

'Thank you,' the Gryffindor chaser whispered.

Evans furrowed her brows and grabbed Snape's hand before they left him on the ground. He, however, didn't move in a long time.

James didn't know how much time he had exactly spent looking at the spot where he last had seen Snape standing. But as the library was about to close, Madam Pince placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Mr Potter, the only time you're not messing with my library and you look like you had just seen a ghost,' the librarian said in an uncharacteristically kind voice. 'But I reckon you ought to be used to Hogwarts' other habitants by now.'

James sniffled. 'Sorry, Madam Pince.'

'Don't apologise if you've done nothing,' Madam Pince said. 'Because you've done nothing this time, right?'

James nodded and got up. 'Will I make it for supper?'

Madam Pince gave him a sad smile. 'I believe house-elves will be more than content to serve you something in your dorms, Mr Potter.'

'Good night then, Madam Pince.'

The librarian beamed. It still surprised James that it was him who was receiving such a gesture from the woman he had tormented the past years with dung bombs.

'Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr Potter.'

James exited the library with a heavy heart. He hadn't been able to apologise to Snape. He hadn't been able to even properly face him at all.

Warm arms interrupted his thoughts as they pulled him into a tight embrace.

'WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?' asked Sirius as he hid his face in the crook of James' neck.

James couldn't keep his tears from streaming down his face, he held Sirius just as tightly as the other did with him.

He heard Remus and Peter approaching them, but James didn't let go of Sirius. He couldn't bear the possibility of losing him, of losing Remus, of losing anyone he cared about.

'James?' Sirius asked, still in his arms. 'Mate, did something happen?'

His hands travelled up and down on Sirius' back as he sobbed. 'I'm sorry I left you all. I'm so sorry.'

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Peter. 'Prongs, you missed little either way. Remus flirted with Amanda Bones, but that's all there was to it.'

James slowly lifted his head to face his friends and smiled. 'After you took Meili Chang out in Hogsmeade one week ago? I hadn't taken you for a player, Moony.'

Remus' previous worried face turned red, and he clenched his fists. 'First of all; Meili needed help in choosing –'

Sirius groaned. 'Oh, for Merlin's beard, Moony, nobody would ever ask you to accompany them to buy desk sets!'

'It's a sensible purchase!'

'And what about Bones, huh?' asked James. 'Is she a sensible partner?'

Peter laughed as Remus crossed his arms. 'As a matter of fact, she is one of the best students in our year, you'd do well to listen to her –'

'Moony, he's having you on!'

Remus turned crimson again and covered his mouth with his left hand. 'Bloody hell, James! Just go back to the tower, it's almost curfew.'

Peter dismissively waved his hands dismissively. 'Whatever, Moony, but make sure you bring James something from the kitchens.'

Sirius grabbed James' hand and with Peter they walked towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving Remus to process the last few minutes.

James kept looking from Sirius to Peter and no matter how angry he had been at Peter's betrayal or Sirius' lack of manners in the future, they were still his friends. Peter, this Peter that walked beside him couldn't be a lost cause, James refused to believe that.

'You would never guess that's one of the best flirters I know,' muttered Peter as they escaped Remus' earshot.

'Damn straight,' Sirius nodded in agreement.

'Guys,' James said he placed both of his arms around his two friends. 'I love you.'

Peter laughed, and Sirius faked a grimace.

'I guess we love you as well, but if you ever repeat that, I'll be legally obliged to act as if I don't know you.'

'Pad's you literally cried yesterday when you saw us at King's Cross because we "were the loves of your life and had abandoned you",' Peter said.

Sirius scratched the back of his head. 'This summer was rough for me!'

'Sirius, your mother confiscated your owl for the last week of summer, I'd hardly call that rough.'

'Living in the same house as my mother is already a rough experience,' Sirius shuddered and stuck his tongue out.

'Your villain origin story,' laughed Peter.

James' cheeks were still wet, but his heart felt lighter.

I have the power to change the story; he thought. I can make things better; I can save and help.

That night they played wizarding chess and waited until Remus finished his prefect rounds. He brought James some chicken and pumpkin juice.

That should've been it for the day. He should've had supper, gone to bed and had a good night's sleep.

Poor James, things rarely go like you expect them to, don't they?

James coughed as he woke up in a dusty, cold room. A kid cried in their bed. James rubbed his eyes as he tried to identify his surroundings.

He knew the place; he had just never been there before.

With a gasp, he ran to the child's bed and a lone tear escaped his eye as he saw a raven-haired wizard cry himself to sleep.

James placed his hand on the kid's scarred cheek and nearly withdrew it when he felt the heat under his skin. He could feel Snape, but Snape couldn't feel him.

This probably was like visiting a memory in a pensieve, but he hadn't taken Snape's memories. He had just absorbed them, almost.

James knew more about Severus Snape than 1975's Snape did, and that simply too weird to be true.

Being a wizard was alright until magic messes up and you're forced to see what six kinds of a jerk you've been to your school nemesis from his perspective.

In other words, magic was fucked up for making James realise his mistakes.

But that didn't matter at the moment because the boy was far too worried for kid-Snape to care.

'I wish — I wish I could help you,' he whispered to the boy.

And he too cried with Snape as he the conditions he was living in. What was covering the kid was actually a towel, and he couldn't help but remember all those times he had made fun of his second-hand robes.

James sat on the bed and stared at the door. 'How can I help you? How can I save you?'

The kid whimpered in his sleep and it forced James to remind himself that this was not the current time Snape, this was a memory, he couldn't interact with Snape. James couldn't do anything about the boy's despair.

'One day — I promise you'll be happy, I'll be damned if you don't end up doing whatever the hell you want instead of being thrown into wars all the time. I promise.'

James moved and planted a kiss on the child's forehead. Snape was oblivious to what was taking place in his own bedroom, and would never learn about it if James had his way.

The teenager cried silently for the other's pain and when he opened his eyes; he was no longer in Snape's bedroom at Spinner's End.

Instead, he found himself in Snape's office.

Now, this was no longer kid-Snape, who was by far the cutest or his teenage classmate. This was an adult Snape.

Professor Snape, who taught potions way harsher than Horace Slughorn did, but also more effective.

Snape crouched as he hugged a child, a first-year.

'I'm, I'm sorry, Professor Snape,' the first-year cried. 'I've never, never even had a sleepover — I miss my mum …'

Snape carefully embraced the kid and James' mouth unceremoniously hung open. Severus Snape looked oddly used to hugging kids as he held the crying girl in his arms.

Being a teacher sure is tragic, ain't it? James thought.

'Your mum wouldn't want you to cry on your first night at Hogwarts, would she?' Snape asked, lightly patting the girl's hair to soothe her.

'My mum always told me Hogwarts would be my home for a very long time, sir.'

'Indeed,' he said. 'Madam Moore was right. Hogwarts will be your home for seven years.'

The first-year's eyes lit up at the mention of her mother. James coughed at the mention of Moore.

'That harpy had a kid? A Slytherin one?' asked James to nobody.

'You know my mother, sir?'

'She was two years above mine, quite an interesting person if I remember correctly.'

The girl nodded and had two more sips of her tea before she stood up. 'My mum's amazing, she's always helping dad and me.'

'You and your father must treasure her then, a good parent is always taken for granted,' Snape said.

James scowled and felt his face heat with anger. How ironic of Snape to say that when his own should've been locked up for child neglect and abuse.

The first-year nodded in agreement. 'I'll be going then, Professor. Thanks for helping me.'

Snape smiled warmly at the kid, and James knew that was probably the little girl's last time to witness such a miracle.

'Don't worry, Miss Moore-Cole. It would surprise you the numerous times I've been visited by first-years on their first nights.'

The girl excused herself, and when James turned to follow Snape, the scenery had changed.

He was back on his bed at Gryffindor Tower.

James felt restless but grabbed his glasses and moved to the window. The sun was rising.

Man — fuck Divination, he thought.