Lily's Box
Disclaimer: No, they're *still* not mine – except for Nettles. Don't sue. All my money went towards my visit to WHSmith at midnight on June 20th after MY FINAL EXAM!!!!!
A/N: Thanks to Kittenmommy and xoem for reviewing! Xoem – thanks for your comment. I didn't make things very clear at the start of Chapter 1, so I'll fill you in now. Basically, Harry is staying at Hermione's and he was there when he found the box. He didn't think he would be able to open it on his own and wanted Hermione there for moral support. The way I see it, he's close enough to both her and Ron to be open with them about something like this, and he'd rather do it with a friend. Hope that helps! (Maybe I'll do a prequel).
And yes, I'm back from Canada, which is as brilliant as always.
A/N 2: Burnley 4 Leeds Utd 2 (pre-season friendly).
A/N 3: I have made some adjustments (29/8/03), having realised that the Hogwarts Express leaves from King's Cross and therefore cannot possibly go through Watford Junction station, as it is on the West Coast mainline and King's Cross is on the East Coast mainline (trust me; I've travelled on enough intercity trains to know these things).
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Chapter 3: The Memory Dial
The sensation was like that of a Time-Turner, Harry thought as they landed with a thud on the Hogwarts Express.
"You can let go now," Snape told them. "You can't be seen. It's not a Time-Turner; it's a Memory Dial, a bit like a Pensieve. You could say we're ghosts from the future. Memory Dials aren't regulated anywhere near as much as Time-Turners because you can't interfere with past events.
"I'm in this compartment. Lily should be along here in a minute – trust me; that's Newark Northgate station." He walked through the door like a spectre and stood by the window, the other two following suit.
A pale, thin, black-haired, black-clothed boy sat in the corner of the compartment, reading.
The door flew open and a pretty, green-eyed, chestnut-haired girl entered. "Have you seen a tortoiseshell cat? Ivy's lost it already." Harry grinned inwardly; this girl's behaviour was uncannily like his own first meeting with Hermione.
"No," the young Severus snapped. He glanced up at the girl. "And who are you?" he sounded irritated.
"I'm Lily Evans; first-year. You?"
"Severus Snape, and ditto." He regarded her carefully. "Evans? I don't recognise that name. I suppose you're Muggle-born?" his voice dripped with derision.
"Yes. Why, does it matter? Some fourth-year idiot seemed to think so."
"Who?"
"I don't know his name, do I? Tall, grey eyes, pale blond hair down to his shoulders, has a 'rich' air about him…"
"That's Lucius Malfoy," Severus immediately answered. "He doesn't like Muggle-borns. It wouldn't be wise to cross him."
"Can I join you?"
"If you must."
Lily sat down opposite him. "So, Severus. Tell me about yourself."
"There isn't much to tell." Severus tensed.
"There must be something," Lily persisted.
"I'm from a pureblood family. I'll be sorted into Slytherin. I'm smart. That's about it."
"Oh. Well, you know who I am. I'm Muggle-born. I was one of the smartest at my primary school. I have an older sister called Petunia who I can't stand. I love reading. I know nothing about Hogwarts. What's Slytherin?"
Severus put his book down. "There are four 'houses' at Hogwarts, which is basically where you'll live, make friends, you'll have meals and lessons with housemates, and you can earn or lose housepoints. The house with the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup. The houses are Gryffindor, for the 'brave', Hufflepuff for the hard workers and the 'loyal', Ravenclaw for the brainboxes, and Slytherin for the 'cunning'. No doubt everyone will tell you all Slytherins are evil."
"What makes you so sure you'll be in Slytherin?" asked Lily.
"My entire family are ex-Slytherins. My father would kill me if I wasn't."
Snape leaned into Harry and Hermione. "Literally," he added. Both could easily believe it.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"No."
"What do your parents do?"
"My father works for the Ministry of Magic. My mother doesn't work." Severus' tone was short, clipped, abrupt.
"Oh. What's Quidditch? Only, I heard some boys talking…"
Severus launched into a lengthy explanation of the wizarding sport and Lily listened intently.
"Did you ever play?" Harry asked.
Snape shook his head. "Nobody ever wanted me on the team. I was more interested in studying, anyway. The captain, Cassius Nott, hated me. He'd never have let me on the team."
The conversation on the train turned to academic subjects. Snape draped the chain round Harry and Hermione's necks and took their hands after setting the date. "Second year." He tapped the dial and moments later they were in one of the library's side-rooms. Lily and Severus were seated at the table in school uniform, several books on the table. They were open, but pushed aside. Lily was facing Severus, one of her hands over his in a comforting gesture. Severus was resting his head in his free hand, the elbow of which was supported by the table.
"I'm sure it was just an accident," Lily was saying.
"Lily, there's no such thing as an accident where Black's concerned," Severus growled. "It bloody well hurt! I'm sure you don't want to be pushed down two flights of stairs." He bit his lip hard. "I've had enough of this, Lily."
"Enough of what? Severus, what are you talking about?" She sounded nervous, anxious.
Severus pulled away. "Everything." He pushed a book towards her. "Bye." He grabbed his bag and stormed off, almost running.
Lily scanned the pages and gasped in shock. "Severus!" She got up, abandoning her belongings, and raced after him.
"Come on," Snape ordered, beckoning to the two as he took off after Lily. She paused outside the library before spotting a flash of black disappearing round a corner. "Oh no you don't," she muttered, running again, following the figure, running straight through the Fat Friar, Hufflepuff's ghost, without hesitating or shuddering.
Rounding another corner, she was in the dungeons. She skidded to an abrupt halt as s he saw a collapsed figure on the ground. Crouching down, she rolled him over. "Severus! What the hell have you done?" she whispered.
"Suicide attempt number four," Snape said quietly.
Lily briskly got him into the recovery position and tore down to the end of the corridor, where she banged on a door. "Professor Nettles!" she shouted desperately. "PROFESSOR NETTLES!"
The door flew open and a tall, grey-haired man in his late fifties stood there. "Yes, Evans?" he demanded icily. "Can I help?"
"Severus has collapsed. I-I think he's taken some kind of poison," Lily explained, gasping for breath.
"Any idea what?"
"Blutgefrieren," Lily said shakily. Nettles' face paled as he swore violently. "Stay here. I've got the antidote." He disappeared into his office while Lily shuffled her feet anxiously.
"What's that?" asked Hermione.
"Blutgefrieren? German, literally translates as 'blood freeze'. It freezes your blood. Kills you in the end. The antidote's 'Blutaufwärmen', or 'blood heat up'. Counteracts the freezing. If the body temperature drops too low, though, you've had it. Which was the point," Snape added, scowling.
Nettles re-emerged, a bottle in his hand. He raced over to Severus and pulled out a syringe. "Blutaufwärmen works far more efficiently and quickly if it's injected straight into the blood." He pushed Severus' sleeve up, extracted some of the antidote from the bottle and injected it into the exposed vein, ignoring the masses of cuts and scars on his arm.
"They both found out about the cutting in November of first year. Nettles was head of Slytherin and Potions teacher. And a bastard," Snape explained, "unless you were a Slytherin – or Lily."
Nettles easily picked Severus up and carried him to the hospital wing, Lily close behind, trailed by the other three. Severus' schoolbag was over her shoulder.
"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"He – he tried to kill himself," whispered Lily.
"I've administered the antidote," Nettles informed Pomfrey briskly. "I'd prefer it if he was offered some help, though. He's better than my seventh-years when it comes to Potions."
"You are aware of his record?" Pomfrey inquired coolly. "Is there any point offering him help? He won't accept it."
Snape's face paled. He clearly hadn't known that before. Lily wore a shocked expression "How can you say that?" she demanded. She pushed past the two adults and sat down beside her unconscious friend. "Come on, Severus. Don't give up on me now!" she pleaded. "I need you. Please."
"She stayed all night. Pomfrey kept me in for a week. Lily kept me up to date with schoolwork. She put Potter off, to help me. You don't need to see anymore of this scene." He set the dial to third year and they landed in the courtyard of the castle. Severus was sitting on a low wall in a corner, book in his lap, watching Lily. It was obviously the weekend, as no uniforms were worn and half the students wore Muggle clothes, Lily included.
"Tennis is stupid!" a black-haired boy complained.
"No it isn't." Lily threw the tennis ball at him. "Is it, Remus?"
A brown-haired, amber-eyed boy shrugged. "I think it's okay. Remember Sirius is a Quidditch freak, though."
"Was that an insult?" demanded fourteen-year-old Sirius Black, tossing the ball at Remus Lupin.
"It was an observation." Lupin threw the ball back at Sirius. "Neither compliment nor insult."
"So just give tennis a try!" Lily ordered irritably.
Sirius sighed heavily. "Okay then." He picked up the racket and a game between him and Lily began.
"Lily won easily," Snape said. "Black refused to play after that. This is Lily at one of her happiest times. None of the Marauders noticed me on this particular day – always a good thing. This was the day that sparked a tennis craze in all the houses except Slytherin." He smiled sadly. "Your mother was really something else, Potter."
Sirius whacked the ball at Lupin, who threw it back hard, missing Sirius and hitting Pettigrew. "Oh, sorry, Peter!" he apologised hastily. "That was meant for Sirius!"
Pettigrew smiled and obligingly threw it at Sirius. None of the three from the future missed the brief scowl and the narrowing of eyes.
"Pettigrew doesn't look happy," remarked Hermione.
"One of the moments that sealed his fate, perhaps," Snape commented as they watched James Potter emerge and join forces with Sirius, while Lupin joined Lily, for an impromptu doubles game. Lily looked over to Pettigrew. "Can you umpire, Peter?" she requested. "You know the rules best."
Pettigrew nodded briefly, the scowl once again briefly crossing his face. None of the tennis players noticed.
"Fourth year," Snape announced, setting the dial and taking Harry and Hermione's hands.
They landed in the hospital wing. Severus was sitting up in bed, bandages covering both his arms from wrist to elbow. Lily was beside him, going over some schoolwork.
"She came every day I was in there, going over work and making sure I kept up," Snape explained. "She was brilliant."
"Was that when you slashed your wrists?" Hermione delicately asked, removing the Memory Dial chain from around her neck.
Snape nodded. "It took her three days to get me to sit up."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"That's what depression does to you, Potter. It can completely cripple a person. Lily was the only person I could trust; the only person I would tell anything to. She persuaded me to tell Madam Pomfrey about my home life, but nothing was done." He beckoned to Hermione. "Put the chain back on." He adjusted the dial and took their hands.
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TBC
