Chapter Plug: Anything by Bugjar – you'll laugh until you wet your pants. Trust me on this one. Comedic brilliance!

Shout Outs:

Ustonz : Glad you think it's unique, and thanks for your review! If you spot anymore errors, point them out and I'll fix them immediately. Hope you like this chapter!

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Chi: You're a loser, Moony. Ya know that? What on earth was I thinking when I made you my best friend? How is 'Lupin is SO Sexy!' a constructive review for my story? Lupin isn't even in here yet! I say: Go review my story, Chi! And this is what I get. Lupin is sexy. And a wink. Oh yes, don't forget the wink.

A/N: I am SO on cloud nine right now! I just got back from the Harry Potter movie 2! I loved it! Doby was adorable, the mandrake babies were unbelievably cute, and Alan Rickman was looking hot! (I'll be drooling over that duel scene for months) I thought the sword of Gryffindor was a bit…unimpressive…and I hate that they took out the scene where Snape surprises them at the beginning. In fact, Snape didn't really have a big part in this book : ( I know we all are hurting from that blow! Oh! And I heard J.K. FINALLY finished the fifth book! It should be out sometime in April. I can't wait to find out what Snape's secret mission was. If any of you readers have a guess (I'm completely stumped) please pass it along in the review box. I'm dying to know what's going to happen…

Reunion

Chapter 4

Harry sensed him in the small lot before he saw him, and he was literally blown away by the evil radiating from him. In fact, he was half-afraid to turn around. He took a deep, shaky breath and turned slowly, preparing himself for whatever he might find.

He was beautiful. Severus Snape was now many years younger. His skin, though still light, was a bit darker. Probably the result of not spending so much time in a potions dungeon…and his hair was almost a warm black, rather than the harsh ebony he remembered. But his eyes were the things that snared his heart immediately. Those eyes looked so innocent still, so youthful. Harry realized that if he compared them to other teenage boys' eyes they would still look troubled and turbulent, but compared to the eyes he knew, they were practically of an angel. Without thinking, he threw himself at the boy, who he now had a small height advantage over, and practically lifted him off his feet. The boy reacted like he'd been scalded, struggling for all he was worth and taking out a good fistful of Harry's hair. Harry didn't notice. He continued his bare hug, tears spilling down his cheeks to feel Severus in his arms again. Finally, his grip loosened enough that the other boy roughly pushed him away, gently itching at his death eater mark beneath his thick robes.

"What in the hell is going on here? I swear, Potter, if this is another one of your stupid jokes to get me killed…" He noticed the tears in Harry's eyes and was somewhat startled. "Potter? Who the…who the hell are you?" He asked wearily, taking a step backwards. He continued to itch at his death eater mark. Harry noticed. It was a habit Severus always did when the Dark Lord was particularly active and it came through his mark in the form of mild irritation. Harry closed the gap between them and idly reached to touch the skin where he knew the mark was branded. Severus reacted like live wire, his eyes clouding in fury and rage. "Answer my questions, damn you!" He roared, stumbling backward on a small stone in the ground and landing on his rump. Harry smiled lovingly and extended a hand to help him stand.

"It's hard to picture you as a clumsy teenager, Severus. The Severus I'm used to is the pinnacle of stealth." He said gently, finally latching on to Severus' hand and pulling him up. They were standing close again, and Harry had not let go of Severus' hand. "I know it's hard to believe, but you're in the future. How old are you?" He asked, radiating calm even though his heart was slamming with alarm at all the evil in the air.

"17." He replied shortly, yanking his hand out of Harry's. Harry realized that this Severus knew absolutely nothing about his undying love for him, so he decided to slow things down even if it killed him.

"Then, you are 17 years in the future. And I'm Harry…Harry Potter." He informed quietly. Severus Snape went wide-eyed, and Harry heard a familiar hissing coming from beneath his robes. He smiled. It would be the perfect opportunity to show Severus that he really did know him well. Before Severus could protest, he lifted the silver chain and smiled at the emerald snake glinting in the night.

"Why hello, Dante. It's a pleasure to see you again." He hissed. The snake remained frozen, though Harry knew both Dante and Severus were completely lost. Severus snapped back first.

"If you're really a… Potter" He said the name like it was a foul potion in his mouth, "then why are you a parsletongue?" He asked disbelieving and obviously envious.

'This Severus is so much easier to read it's almost laughable.' Harry thought to himself idly as he let the chain resume its natural place. Confusion was rolling off of Severus in waves.

"Come on Severus, we have a lot to talk about. Let's go to your house over there, okay?" He instructed rather than asked, lightly grasping Severus by his shoulder and guiding him towards the gate. Before he left, he turned a weary eye behind them. He saw the heart stone, now buried deep in the cross over Severus' grave. It was a beautiful picture…but something was not right. He pulled out his wand, only to find that Severus' was now aimed at his throat.

"What do you know? Guess you're not dueling champion in this time, eh Potter?" He asked with a malicious smirk. Harry sighed and looked behind them again.

"Lay off it Severus. Something's not right here. We can either go while we still have functional bodies to get away in, or we can stay and I'll use you as a distraction while I run." Harry said jokingly. Severus clearly misinterpreted this.

"Like hell you will, Potter. You aren't going anywhere." He said threateningly as ropes tightly bound their wrists together with a wave of his wand. "If I die, you die." He snatched Harry's wand. Harry smiled and called a bit of his heart magic, easily plucking it out of Severus's hand and returning it to his own as though an invisible being had snatched it for him. Severus's eyes went wide. "How did you…" Harry abruptly interrupted him.

"Severus. Listen to me. I am from the future. I know far more than you do. I am way more powerful than you, and I know all your secrets." He was getting serious now. He pulled Severus' disbelieving face closer to his own. "I know things about you that even Voldemort knows nothing about." He let that sink in before slowly moving back. "And, as erotic as it is to have you tied to me, love," He watched the look of absolute shock slide over Severus's face with some amount of satisfaction, "If something rather nasty is trailing us, I might need both hands." He tapped the ropes lightly, making them fall to the ground in ashes. "We'll have plenty of time for kinky little games after we're back safely at Hogwarts." He promised with a wink, gently pushing Severus in front of him so that he could watch the man's back on their journey to his home.

"How did you acquire your magic? What do you know of Voldemort?" Severus asked shakily, obviously trying to compose himself.

'Someone is listening!' An inner voice shouted at him, practically telling him to run for his life. He breathed a little heavier, his eyes flitting back and forth along the path. Up ahead of him he could see Severus was beginning to show nervousness.

"I'll answer your questions when we are once again safe inside Hogwarts." Harry said firmly, picking the pace up to a brisk jog. Severus realized they were in danger and matched his pace. Harry had a small bag of floo powder in his robe pocket; something he'd learned could always come in handy.

"Is your old home connected to the floo network?" He half shouted as he increased his pace even more. Something told him that if he hung around to find out what was waiting for them in the shadows, he would soon be joining his lover in an all-together different way.

"Yes!" Severus replied, a fearful look on his young face. Harry suddenly remembered his broom lying forgotten at the graveyard.

"Damn it! Accio Lightening Flash!" He summoned with a backward wave of his wand, chastising himself for leaving his prized racing broom behind. A few moments later, the golden broom zoomed along side him. He quickly mounted with a running jump, whipping alongside Severus and hauling him on. He quickly raised into the air, casting a glittering patronus behind him, knowing it would halt their shadowy pursuer. They quickly bridged the gap between the house and the graveyard. Harry blew out the door with his wand before they even landed. He grabbed Severus's upper arm in one hand and his broom in the other. He pulled the other boy into the pitch-black house, quickly lighting the tip of his wand.

"Lumos!" He shouted, relieved to see the fireplace in the living room. He quickly extracted the bag and tossed its contents inside the fireplace. "Hogwarts!" He informed in a weary voice. He moved Severus forward. He looked doubtingly at him, so Harry pushed him forward, holding him tightly in his arms as they zipped through the fireplace network.

They landed in a jumble of limbs just inside Dumbledore's office. He casually looked up from his tea and book, smiling at them before his eyes returned to the page.

"Why hello Harry, Severus. Either of you care for some tea or a lemon drop?" He asked politely. Harry shook his head. The man was crazy. Purely and simply crazy. Severus looked at Dumbledore incredulously, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Headmaster?" He asked surprised. "You're still alive?"

Harry laughed boyishly before he abruptly stopped.

"He's not dead in your time is he?" He quickly asked alarmed.

"No…but…"He suddenly snapped his mouth closed. A moment seemed to pass between Severus and the knowing eyes of Dumbledore.

"But Voldemort was supposed to kill me in a dual soon, correct?" He asked. Snape's eyes went wide. "I…I…" He stuttered. The headmaster knew about his connection with Voldemort. He'd be sent to Azkaban for sure.

Harry didn't like the look of pure horror at being 'discovered' that was on Severus' face. He lightly grasped his shoulder.

"Severus. Whether you will be punished for serving the Dark Lord still remains to be seen. You've been given another chance. Sit down and let me explain to both of you…though I seriously doubt I will say anything the headmaster doesn't already know." He said wearily, his past activities finally catching up to him.

"Get comfortable boys, I'm going to get you some chocolate and a potion to perk you up." He looked at both of them, still damp from rain and sooty from their journey to the office. He waved his wand and muttered a spell, leaving both boys clean and refreshed looking. Severus rigidly sat; looking like a child that had been caught red handed and was waiting for the punishment. Harry couldn't resist standing beside his chair, gently squeezing his shoulder.

"Everything is going to be alright, Severus. I won't let anyone hurt you." He said quietly. Severus looked at him with narrowed eyes, confusion and loss shining from them.

"I…how could you possibly love me?" Was all he finally asked, looking disbelieving and trapped. Harry smiled.

"I suppose I am making you uncomfortable…it's just that your self in this time recently…past away." Severus looked alarmed. "And I…I didn't take it too well. We were very much in love. It's just hard to see you back, but not be able to hold you. I guess it will take some getting used to." Harry said sadly, reluctantly letting his hold on Severus go. Severus nodded curtly as if to say he understood, but did not posses the desire to return the affection.

"You look too much like Potter. It's disgusting." He hissed under his breath, crossing his arms and looking away. "And you can't be older than 18. I would never love someone at all, much less someone that was young enough to be my son." He said bitingly, with the intention to push him away. Harry mimicked his dead lover's sneer. He leaned over the back of Severus's chair, his breath tickling the boy's ear.

"Funny, you didn't mention any of those opinions when I was fucking you senseless not too long ago…" He trailed off as Dumbledore entered, taking careful note of the look of embarrassment on Severus' face. He was starting to like being the one manipulating the emotions. In the past, Severus had always been dominant, making him feel however he wanted him to feel, making him do whatever he wanted him to do. Severus was always an unchanging pentacle of protection and comfort. Harry had never felt safer than when he was wrapped snuggly in his arms during a cold night.

But now he would be the one that would dominate. He would be the protector for Severus, the one he ran to for comfort and safety. He would hold him in his arms and make him feel like he had so often felt before around Severus…precious and loved.

"Well boys, here we are." He said as he handed them each a small plate filled with chocolate and biscuits, along with a brimming cup of hot tea. Harry took his gratefully, guzzling the tea and inhaling the food. He was extremely hungry. Dumbledore chuckled at the reckless abandon that Harry was eating with, and the precise neatness that Severus was using, even going so far as to narrow his eyes at the tea as if it were poisoned. "I assure you Severus, I dislike the taste of poison in my tea greatly. You are safe." He grinned kindly while Severus took a tentative sip. Harry finished with a contented sigh.

"That was just what I needed." He said with a smile. He felt better than he had in a long time. Everything was going right again.

~

"So you see, that's the whole of it." He finished with a brief nod. Severus had long ago finished his tea, choosing instead to stare at the empty glass as he rotated it in his elegant hands.

"Voldemort is gone…and I helped kill him." He said softly…sadly. Harry became angry without thinking.

"Honestly Severus! You sound like you're disappointed about it! Don't you see? You have a second chance! You can make friends this time instead of enemies, and you can use your mind to help people rather than hurt them!" He exclaimed heatedly. Severus quickly stood and challenged him with every fiber of his being.

"And what…Potter…have these 'people' ever done for me?! You are every bit James Potter, and I don't mean that as a compliment! How simple and stupid you all are! Don't you see what you have destroyed? What greatness you have ruined?!" He all but screamed, turning on his heel and storming out of the office. Before he left, he boldly finished. "I will find a way to get back, and in my time, my Lord will not die. I obviously made a mistake to turn to your side…my body is rotting away in a graveyard because of it!" He hissed, stalking out of the room. Harry started after him.

"Harry?" Dumbledore questioned. Harry stopped reluctantly and turned, practically bouncing from one foot to the other in his hurry.

"During this time of his life, Severus did not think highly of your father and our cause. Perhaps you could call on a…favor…from someone you know that he would trust, eh?" Dumbledore suggested mildly as he sat down.

"Who?" Harry asked quickly. Dumbledore smiled mysteriously.

"Someone who has been through what Severus is going through right now. I'm sure you can come up with someone." Dumbledore said with a playful tilt of his head. Realization slowly dawned on Harry and his eyes went wide.

"Right!" He said as he began to rush out of the room.

"Oh, and Harry!" Dumbledore stopped him again. "Severus is a transfer student from Durmstrang. Tell him to choose a new name for himself to go by. I'll take care of the rest. Don't tell anyone except Draco who he really is. I'm going to put him in a Gryffindor dorm room for now, but should he ask, I will move him to Slytherin. I'd win him over quickly." Dumbledore added with an encouraging smile.

"Thank you Professor. You don't know how much this means to me." He said quickly as he ran out the hall, knowing just what he was going to do.

The Marauder's Map said that Draco was currently lounging in the prefect's bathroom. He quickly sprinted to the bathroom and burst in, not bothering to knock.

"Honestly, Potter! I was trying to bathe in privacy…" The superior drawl slid throughout the room.

"No time for that. I need a favor. If you do it, consider yourself free of debt." He said in a rush. Malfoy quickly exited the bath, on the lightest blush coming to his aristocratic features as he quickly wrapped his nude body in a towel. Not so long ago, Harry had done him a large favor. He'd been caught by Dumbledore at a deatheater meeting, about to be initiated and about to give up everything he had going for him, when Harry busted it up and saved him from a life that he only now realized would have been his ruin. Not only that, but he had convinced Dumbledore not to expel him, covering for him with the understanding that he would change his ways.

And he had. He'd changed so much that he barely knew himself anymore. He only knew one thing that Harry apparently didn't. He was falling for him. Hard. So badly in fact, that when Snape had died, he couldn't say that he'd been completely upset. He'd respected the man, but could not help but to be horribly jealous. But now…Snape was out of the picture. Harry was fair game.

~

Draco's only thought as Harry ignorantly bounded out of the bathroom, flushed with assurance that Severus would soon be his again, was that life was an ironic bitch. He'd finally fell in love with someone that would be faithful and loving, someone that was good for him, but he was already taken. Then he becomes available only to become taken again, as if dangling meat in front of a starving man. But, for Harry to get the man he really wants he has to befriend him and teach him to be a good person…a concept he is only just learning for himself. And worst of all, he knew this was one thing he couldn't screw up. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted Harry to be happy…he deserved it. And if that meant that he wanted Severus, then he would deliver.

He sighed as he pulled on his clothes and headed for the upper turrets, where the younger Severus Snape had apparently been brooding for the past hour. That in itself was a hard concept to grasp. Severus Snape as a seventeen-year-old would have been a laughable situation if it weren't royally screwing him over. He cursed inwardly in as many languages as he could remember.

When he reached the upper turrets, namely the roof, he found who he was looking for easily enough. He'd always had trouble seeing what Harry saw in Severus Snape that he did not see in him. He'd finally decided that it was simply the fact that Harry preferred older men, but this theory was now shot to hell, as it appeared that Harry really didn't care about age. Nevertheless, he now saw a small glimmer of what Harry saw. Severus was sitting against the base of a spire, one leg dangling over the edge and one pulled up to his chest. He was framed against the full moon, his elegant profile gazing over the Forbidden Forest. Now for the hard part. Draco didn't like befriending anyone, and this was no different. He wasn't even sure he remembered how.

"You're in my spot." He said in his typical drawl. Severus startled and turned quickly, making Draco think for a moment that he would fall off the roof. No such luck. Severus' eyes widened in surprise.

"Lucius?" He asked breathlessly. Draco felt his eyes furrow into a scowl. He confidently walked forward, looking intimidating and violent.

"It's Draco. Mention that…man's…name in my presence again and it will be the last word you speak." He threatened. His father was still a touchy subject, one he didn't like anyone even approaching. "I take it you knew him in the past." He added after an awkward moment of silence, standing near Severus but not sitting down.

"Something like that. No one really knew him." He said quietly, returning to looking out over the forest. He seemed completely out of it.

"Potter came skipping through the halls practically giddy. He said you were back from the past and I had to see for myself. You're speaking of the man that used to be my father." He informed in a lazy drawl, hiding the affection that wanted to come through in his voice when he spoke of Harry.

"I assumed as much. You look just like him. Your beauty partnered with intimidation reminds me of him a great deal." Draco practically did a double take. Did Severus Snape just call him…beautiful? What the hell had he gotten himself into when he'd agreed to befriend Severus? He needed a smoke.

He quickly rolled up the fine paper with practiced ease, lighting it with his wand. He took a long drawl and looked out over the landscape.

"You smoke?" He asked carelessly. Snape looked at him again, striking him with piercing black eyes that were practically overflowing with something. Draco had never been good at reading emotion. Snape took a cigarette from him and toyed with the paper in his long fingers before placing it to his lips. Draco blew out a trail of heavy smoke. "Your older self hated smoking. Rode my ass every time I tried to light up." He commented lightly with a small smirk.

"My older self sounds like he's a complete moron." Snape said while he rolled his eyes, exhaling the small cloud of toxic smoke and making no efforts to hide his stare as he raked his eyes over Draco. Draco pretended he didn't see, carelessly dropping one hand in his pocket while he held the cigarette in the other, occasionally rolling it between his fingers in a meditative way.

"I always looked up to you. You knew more about things than that crackpot Dumbledore did." He added, knowing he had laid his trap. All Snape had to do was take the bait.

"Dumbledore is a blind fool. It wouldn't take much to surpass him in intelligence." Snape spat. Draco marveled at the young man. He'd just walked into it…all defenses lowered. He absently wondered when this Snape would become the knowledgeable, mentally exhausting, perfectionist professor. Right now he sounded like an impressionable teen, not a phrase Draco was used to attaching to the name of Severus Snape. Surely he couldn't be that clueless. If he really was so innocent, this was going to be a breeze. He'd be fucking Potter and wearing anti-Voldemort buttons in no time.

He shrugged almost carelessly. "Eh, you never know with that sort. They'll look you in the eye and pull an ace from their sleeve, all the while making you think that you're winning the game. Don't know how he was in your time, but he's a cunning old dog now. Unpredictable. That's what makes him dangerous. Personally, I don't like a man unless I know what he's thinking. Take Potter for example. Kid's got a heart of gold. I don't think he's questioned the line between good and evil once. All the right decisions are as clear as day for him…always. If there's someone getting beaten up on, you can count on Potter to be the one breaking it up. You know what I mean? Voldemort equals bad, Dumbledore equals good. Nothing too complicated with him."

"Weakness. His openness will get him killed some day." Snape replied stiffly. Draco laughed at him.

"Open your eyes, man! He's filthy rich, world famous, everyone loves him, and he's by far smarter than he looks. He got the man he wanted, a job he loves, and friends that would die for him. And look at our sort. You're dead, the Death Eaters are rotting in Azkaban, I'm suicidal, and Voldemort got blasted into mush so sloppy that they buried the fucker in a zip lock bag. If we were as smart as we all claim to be, you'd think we'd have figured out what it was that Potter did right by now." Draco said as he sat down opposite Snape with a sad smile still lingering on his face.

"Life is a bitch." Snape replied dryly. Draco looked him straight in the eyes, telling him how ignorant he was.

"You don't know the half of it. You really don't." He said quietly. Snape didn't agree or disagree, merely held his stare.

"And what, pray tell, do you suggest 'our sort' do?" He asked, not quite sarcastic, but toeing the line.

"What I've already started doing. Give into it. I'm not going to become some brainwashed hero worshipper to Potter, but I'm going to try befriending him. There are still Death Eaters loose that would torture me at the first chance they got. Let's just say I've slept better knowing that Potter is on my side. Plus, he's not a complete Gryffindor. Almost got sorted into Slytherin, in fact. By the way, I'm the only other one that knows you came from the past. Potter says it will be much easier for everyone if you play the part of a transfer student from Durmstrang. You know, choose a fake name to go by. No doubt Dumbledore will befuddle anyone's mind here at Hogwarts that would have remembered you." Draco casually added. Snape picked up on the insinuation.

"Who would be here that would recognize me?" He asked quickly, one sleek eyebrow furrowing down in suspicion. Draco went in for the kill.

"You'd have to talk to Potter. I really don't know the details." He said apathetically as he began to walk for the small door that would take him back to the bowels of the castle.

"Wait a second…Draco." He used the name as though he was testing it, unsure of whether or not it would work right. "Tell me why Potter would trust you with my true identity and not his other friends?" He asked coolly, though Draco could tell he was hoping for an acceptable answer so that he would not lose the only possible prospect for a friend.

"Potter and Dumbledore think a lot alike. They seem to have the idea that putting trust in a person connects you to them." Draco mused. Snape scoffed.

"Trust is a weak connection. It is easily bypassed." He replied almost automatic sounding. Draco was willing to bet that Snape thought he had an answer for everything.

"Trusting you is just the first step." He chuckled to himself as he opened the door. "Trust me when I say that they are both masters of manipulation. Watch how they work, you might just learn something. I know I have." They both returned to the inside of Hogwarts and walked until it was time they part ways.

"Dumbledore has you staying in Gryffindor Tower. I trust you know where it is. Just remember this, Snape. Voldemort says he'll give you challenges for your mind and power, says he knows the future. But I'll tell you this now. Voldemort couldn't predict Christmas if you gave him a calendar. Compared to Dumbledore and Potter, Voldemort's skills of manipulation are pathetic. If you want a real challenge to prove those smarts of yours, hang around Potter and try to spot that ace. I bet you won't even see it coming. He'll have you wrapped around his finger in a week." Draco challenged.

"And if he doesn't?" Snape replied haughtily. Draco wanted to laugh in his face again.

"Then you'd be smart enough to see why Voldemort isn't where the real power is. But like I said, it won't come to that. You won't last a week." Draco restated. Snape looked rebellious.

"And just how long did you last against these supposedly omniscient powers of manipulation?" He asked sarcastically. Draco sneered at him.

"Longer than you will, my friend. Longer than you." Was all he said before he turned and strolled off down the darkening hallway, eerily laughing the entire way.

~ Hogwarts Dropout

(A mind is a terrible thing to confuse with an egg.)