Hello Everyone,
This is my second fanfic and this time, I'm trying my luck on time travel. I do hope you like it.
Please review but please keep the reviews constructive and useful so I can improve. Though one thing is for certain and I really cannot help it: I will not be updating as regularly as my previous fanfic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.
The Time Travel Crew
Chapter 1: Severus has visitors
The war was over finally, but, the loss had been, well, terrible. So many families had been torn apart... So many of his students, and acquaintances had been killed. Severus Snape had tried his best to protect them, but he failed. It seemed that the only people who were able to be cured from the effects of the war, physically of course, were Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick and Severus himself.
Severus was lucky to have even survived that night, let alone aquire all his skills back. The credit went to Hermione Granger, who had the presence of mind to carry the anti-venom to Nagini's poison wherever she went. Unfortunately she along with Arthur and Ginny Weasley succumbed to their injuries after the battle.
Minerva and Filius had come to retrieve Severus from the Shrieking Shack after the defeat of Lord Voldemort. It seemed that Harry Potter practically screamed out Severus's innocence to everyone who would listen and demanded that they retrieved him from the Shrieking Shack before the boy passed out from the pain and his excessively bleeding wounds. Losing his right eye as well as his left forearm and still defeating the Dark Lord was impressive, even to Severus himself.
He had blinded himself with the hatred he felt towards the boy's father, he had misjudged the boy after all...before even getting to know him. James Potter would never have just walked to his death, he would have found a way of overcoming it, but Harry was...different. Dumbledore had told Severus on several occasions not to test someone on looks alone, but Severus had never listened.
After Harry was cured, as much as was possible - given his condition - Severus pushed back his pride and approached the boy in order to apologize to him. So, they got into a conversation. And while in that conversation - they talked about a lot of things and a lot of theories and a lot of people - Severus, never found the right opportunity to apologize. However, he somehow felt that Harry had already forgiven him.
Ever since then, he and Harry were friends. Harry would visit Severus in his quarters everyday either for tea or for a small chat, with a bandage over his missing eye and a long robe-sleeve dangling in place of his left elbow and forearm.
Severus got his Potions Master post again and Harry had been given the DADA. The school would start in two months, but Minerva felt the need of hurrying with the Professor choosing process.
Harry argued that he wasn't in any form to do anything, let alone teach. But Minerva insisted and Severus knew she did this to keep Harry's mind off the terrible memories of Hermione Granger, Lupin, Tonks, Ron Weasley (who blamed Harry for the loss of Arthur and Ginny and Fred. The rest of the family couldn't convince his otherwise...) and so on and so forth.
Ron Weasley, broke ties with Harry the moment the latter woke up two weeks after blacking out. What Severus heard the now youngest Weasley say to Harry, were things he would never repeat to anyone ever. Weasley would have even thrown in a few punches, hadn't Severus and Neville Longbottom, both who had woken up from the commotion, stunned the redhead. Neville was one of the injured too, being the recipient of a curse that began slowly eating up his insides. Madam Pomfrey had been on her toes for two weeks.
Though Severus knew Harry was hurt by Ron's attitude, be didn't show it. He was subdued, but that was the behaviour of everyone around. The other professors had heard of Weasley's attitude, and they were not pleased. But Harry intervened and made sure his former best friend wasn't harmed. Sometimes, Severus wondered if Harry too blamed himself for what happened.
'Obviously' said the voice in his head but it didn't elaborate.
Severus was sitting at his table in his office in the dungeons. He sighed. So much had taken place in just a month after the battle of Hogwarts. Severus was now recognized as a hero, but he wasn't happy about it. He knew he didn't deserve the title at all. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was free. There was no one who would haunt him now thanks to Harry who made a big speech on the Hogwarts grounds a week before and had also written a large article for the Daily Prophet. All Severus needed now was a good rest.
But was that really what he wanted? Severus blamed himself for everything that happened. If he could just start all over again, how nice would that be?
He was brought out of his reverie by a firm knock on his door. He got up to open it and he found Minerva, Pomona and Filius standing outside with a confused Harry in tow. The bandage that Harry usually wore in place of his missing eye was replaced with a black patch, behind his glasses, not unlike the one the pirate on the picture that Lily showed him once wore.
Severus had no idea what his fellow professors had in mind, given the purposeful glint he saw in their eyes, but he had a feeling something was going to happen after this meeting, whether for better or for worse, he didn't know.
"Good evening," Severus said politely before he set the kettle to boil with a flick of his wand. "Come in."
As Severus made the tea, he noticed, Filius putting up wards around his already warded room. Severus raised a curious eyebrow at him but said nothing.
Silently he poured steaming tea into all their cups, sat down and finally said, "Is there something you have in mind?"
Harry gave a small shrug as he put down the cup he was holding, to pick up a cookie. Severus and the other members of the staff were just glad that Harry's pride was still going strong. He never asked for help if he could help it, but he wasn't aware of the secret help he got from all the teachers, in the form of a small charm on his table that temporary stuck his parchment to it while he wrote, or a pain relieving potion that was magicked into his goblet in the Great Hall when he wasn't looking or the other tiny things anyone else did to keep him comfortable.
Minerva said, "I'm not going to beat around the bush. Severus."
"When have you ever?" Severus quipped drily.
Minerva just shook her head and said, "What do you know of time travel?"
Severus's eyes opened wide, but said hesitantly "Well...I do know that Black was saved from the dememtor's kiss with the help of a time-turner."
"What do you know about time turners, Severus."
"Nothing much," Severus answered honestly, "Save for the fact that one shouldn't be seen by one's past or future self."
"Tut, tut!" Minerva said, "And what do you know about permanent time travel?"
Severus, beginning to get annoyed, snapped "Nothing at all!"
Filius intervened just in time, in a tone meant for a first year, "Let's bring you on track, Severus and Harry. Time is divided into different units ranging from a supereon to a fraction of a second.
"Take the tiniest fraction of a second into consideration and compare every one of that fraction to that of a layer on an onion or a layered cake, without a beginning nor an end. These layers are simply placed parallel to each other. The events that occur travel from one layer to the next after that particular unit of time completes its worth.
"For example think of what I have just said, it's travelling through the layers already, becoming a second's history, then another second's history and soon it shall be a minute's history or even an hour's history, then days and weeks and months and..."
"Alright, I get the picture." Severus said thoroughly annoyed at being treated like an ignorant child. "What you have just spoken, Filius, is just repeating itself in every parallel layer of time. What I've just spoken, is going down through the layers of the smallest fraction of time. But what are you getting at?"
There was a gasp and the four professors turned to their former student. Harry's eye that was wide just a moment ago, narrowed as he gave Minerva, Filius and Pomona a shrewd look.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Severus asked setting down his cup.
Harry looked at him and said accusingly, "These three are planning on doing some time traveling."
"Not just any time traveling, Harry!" Pomona said happily. "We're doing a permanent time travel."
"What's that?" Severus and Harry said as one.
Filius chuckled, "It means we are going back in time, into the bodies of our younger selves. We're going to take over our younger bodies, we're going to control it and our younger minds will simply cease to exist."
Severus blinked, open-mouthed.
"Is that even possible?" Harry said.
"It is." Filius confirmed. "I've been looking it up ever since the day after the battle. It's a beautiful yet extremely complicated charm, which needs utter concentration and delicate movements...There are a lot of things that have gone wrong in the past, Harry, and change is needed."
Severus leant forward, "You do realize, Filius, that there could be many other things that can go wrong once you begin to right the currently past wrongs?"
"Of course." said Pomona. "But we need to try."
"Have you even thought of what you will be doing once you get back?" Harry asked. "And by the way, how many of you are going back in time? When are you going? Have you synchronized your information and got your facts straight? I'm almost positive you don't know half..."
"Hold it, Harry." Minerva said. "One question at a time. Now what did you say first?... Oh, yes. We still have to discuss our plans in that region. We were more focussed on getting there, first. To your second question...what was it?"
"How many of you are going?"
"Oh yes, Pomona, Filius and me."
Severus sat up straight, "I want to go back too."
Minerva said surprised, "Whatever for? Would you rather face Voldemort again? I thought you could do with a break."
"I will not face him unprepared, this time." Severus said. "And there are some things, I'd like to change as well. My hostility to you, Harry, for one."
Severus saw Harry looking at him with surprise and meek acknowledgement for a moment and then he gave Severus a genuine smile.
"That's wonderful." Pomona clapped her hands.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked surprised.
"Oh, don't tell me." Severus almost growled, "The three of you knew I'd offer to come?"
"Don't be an old grouch, Severus. You aren't as old as us as it is." Minerva said as she turned towards Harry. "What about you, Harry? What would you like to do?"
"I don't think I should, actually. But what's going to happen to me if I don't come?"
Filius sighed, "This you, along with everything else in this time will cease to exist. And the parallel layers of the time in the future, the smallest fraction of the second after which we reach our desired destiny, will change. This you, will be gone for good and will be replaced by the you we meet when we go back."
Harry smiled, "What have you planned for me, Professors?"
"If you come back with us, Harry," Pomona said gently, "you will be whole, you will be with your loved ones again and most importantly, this you will be able to see and appreciate the change...not the new you we shall meet. It will be of no difference to him... but you need to see for yourself how happy you could get with another chance."
Harry frowned thoughtfully.
Severus could see a hint of longing in his only green eye. Then the longing turned into determination and then Harry said, "I'll come too, but...er, would it be possible to bring Neville and Draco along as well?"
"Draco?" Severus asked in surprise. That boy had truly shown remorse a week after the battle, but still, Severus didn't think Harry of all people would choose to trust him.
Harry hesitated, "I mean, we will need an eye in the Slytherin House, someone who's closer to the students than you, Professor."
Severus frowned but said, "I understand. And what about Neville?"
He had finally decided to call students by their first names from the time he was released from the hospital wing, he learnt that life was too short to waste time being cold and it was nice to have them talking back to him in a friendly manner.
Harry flushed, "Well, you see..."
"You need company." Pomona said matter-of-factly. "There's no problem, Harry. Personally, I'd prefer you stick to him rather than Weasley."
Severus saw Harry cringe.
he put his hand on what remained of Harry's left upperarm, in silent support. He could feel the tremors that ripped through his arm and stayed still, waiting for Harry to collect himself.
Flashback
Severus woke up to hear a low sorrowful whisper.
"I'm sorry, Ron. I'm so sorry."
He heard a louder more harsher voice say, "After everything you did, you have the gall to call me by my name?"
"Please Ron," the weaker voice said, "Don't be like that."
He realised he was alseep in the infirmary. Inspite of being residing there for two weeks, he couldn't get used to it. He opened his eyes and saw Neville lying down on a nearby bed, his gray eyes wide with disbelief.
Looking in the same direction Neville was looking, Severus saw Harry lying on the bed, thin and fragile, looking sorrowfully at a tall boy who was towering him. The boy's back was turned towards Severus, but he had no doubt that the boy was Ron Weasley. The redhead squared his shoulders and yelled:
"YOU DESERVED IT! AND YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU! YOU DESERVED TO BE BEATEN AND BULLIED BY YOUR ONLY FAMILY! YOU DESERVED TO BE LOCKED UP IN THAT CUPBOARD! YOU DESERVED ALL THAT PAIN! YES! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER CONVINCED FRED AND GEORGE TO HELP ME RESCUE YOU THAT SUMMER. YOU WOULD HAVE STARVED TO DEATH. IT WOULD'VE SERVED YOU RIGHT.
"YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO DO ALL THIS. YOU'RE A MURDERER! A DOUBLE CROSSING, COLD, SADISTIC MURDERER. YOU KILLED MY FATHER! YOU KILLED MY SISTER! YOU KILLED THE GIRL I LOVED! BECAUSE OF YOU FRED WAS KILLED IN THAT BLAST! YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN UP YOURSELF IN THE BEGINNING ITSELF, BUT NO!"
Weasley lowered his voice to a cold hateful tone.
"I don't know why Mum, George, Charlie, Percy or Bill don't blame you, but I will make them see the truth. You are absolutely ungrateful, after all my family did for you...I hope you lose your other eye too, Potter. I could kill you, y'know. But I want to see you suffer for what you've done..."
Weasley pulled back a fisted arm, and directed it at Harry's face, but Severus was too quick, a stupefy had the idiot down on the floor, unconscious. But Severus realised that he wasn't the only one who sent a stunner. He looked at Neville just in time to see him tucking his wand away and looking helplessly at Harry who's expression was forlorn.
Severus got up from his bed, walked over to Harry's and placed his hand on the boy's good shoulder and Severus could see Harry struggling to maintain his composure. He succeeded after a few moments, but it was enough for Severus to know that Harry would always be affected by those words.
End of the Flashback
Severus used to ponder on what Weasley meant about the cupboard, but he never had the heart to question Harry. But, now, Severus was almost certain that Harry had been ill-treated by his relatives, if the things he saw in their Occlumency lessons were not enough. He had been thoroughly blinded by his hate and now that he had another chance, he was going to make weekly visits to Privet Drive.
Severus saw Harry slowly bring himself under control, look up at Pomona and give her a smile. She happily returned it.
Minerva said, "I think it would be best if you stayed away from Hermione and Ginny as well. They're too clever for their own good and before you know it, the truth will be out."
Harry nodded with a frown.
Filius said, "Now, in answer to your third question: 'When'; we will go back once we have our facts straight. And the answer to the fourth question is, no."
Pomona cleared her throat, "So Harry, why don't you get down to brass tacks and fill us in with everything?"
"Let's get Draco and Neville in first then?" Harry said.
Severus frowned, if they were going to have a secret eye in Slytherin and two in Gryffindor, why not in the other two houses as well?
"Harry," Severus began slowly, "do you know a trustworthy person from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too? It wouldn't hurt having another two on the crew."
Harry spoke without any hesitation, "There's Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw. From Hufflepuff, well...There are two, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Flechley, but I think Justin will be more suitable for this."
There was a contemplating silence.
"I like your choice, Harry." Pomona then said with a smile. "Ernie can be too pompous at times..."
To be continued...