By Alarun
Chapter 2
"PARTY!" Lee Jordan screamed above the clamor of the Great Hall's confusion. As one, the entire student body of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood up, threw random foods into the air, and caused ultimate mayhem of the lunchroom. Argus Filch threw himself into the students, diving off of the Head Table, crowd surfing and shrieking like the over-partying, and drunk, sixteen year old that he was.
Severus blinked as the crowd rose up like a great monster and, having prior post-Quidditch experience with insane teenagers, grabbed the three unsuspecting Gryffindors and made a speedy exit through one of the side doors.
He led them to the Gryffindor Common room and sat down on the comfortable, over-stuffed couch in front of the vast fireplace. "All right. What the hell is going on here?" He asked the three fifth years, running his fingers through his dark locks.
"First of all, Sir, this is Ron Weasley. And I'm Hermione Granger." The bushy-haired girl announced, opening her mouth too much. Severus grinned.
"I guess I must be a Professor here, huh? Nice to meet you, I'm sure you already know me. Hope I'm not too evil, since you said I was Head of Slytherin." He chuckled as Ron shivered.
"This must be a practical joke; either that, or an attack by Voldem—sorry, Ron. You-Know-Who." Harry cleared his throat and looked thoughtful. "The practical jokers of Hogwarts are Fred and George Weasley, without a doubt. We should ask them."
"I doubt we could pry any articulate information out of them right now," Snape supplied. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Or afternoon, depending on whether they find alcohol or not."
Hermione pursed her lips, looking down at her Potions Professor. "Do you suppose we should tell somebody at the Ministry about this?"
Ron looked like she had shouted something blasphemous. "If you tell the Ministry, Dad'll get in a lot of trouble. And Fred and George would probably be expelled!"
"I bet they'll be expelled once we change back into adults, anyway," Severus supplied, "Where's your father, Harry? And Remus, Sirius, and Peter?"
The trio flinched as Snape said 'Peter.' Sev looked confused.
"M-my father died when I was a baby. Peter--" Harry was cut off by Hermione.
"The only ones who can help us are Remus Lupin and Sirius Black," she said quickly, but realized that her reaction time was off.
"Died?" Snape's black eyebrows nearly hit his widow's peak hairline. "Died? As in dead?"
They could tell that Snape didn't hate James Potter nearly as much as they had believed. If Snape had been a year-mate with the Marauders, and in the same house …
"Sir …….Sna—Sev? Were you friends with my parents?" Harry knew that was a stupid question, but couldn't phrase it any differently. He noticed that Snape's hands had started shaking slightly, like he was in shock.
"Lily …is she d-dead too? Is Lily okay?" He seemed to have not heard Harry's question.
"Lily was my mom. She died protecting me from Voldemort." Harry knew that he probably shouldn't have delayed answering that question, for some reason he knew only by his sixth sense. Or maybe from Snape's shaking.
"She …and James?" Snape shook his head, took a breath, started again. "This isn't right…" He gave up and slouched forward on the couch, holding his head in his hands.
"Why not? I heard they were a item at school," Ron asked dubiously, unaware of the building tension in Severus Snape.
Snape frowned, glared at the floor. "Lily and I have been going out since second year. James never looked twice at her; his girlfriend is Bella Rhymes."
* * *
"Alternate universe. This is definitely an alternate universe…" Harry Potter continued repeating to himself, his arms wrapped around his torso, as he sat down next to Snape on the couch.
"Alternate universe? A prank would be easier to fix." Snape stood up and started pacing. "We need proof that we ---the professors--- didn't travel in time from our past. If we transformed into teenagers—from, say, a potion brewed by Fred and George Weasley—it'd be much easier to change back than go back in time--"
"But, how do we figure out if you turned into a teenager or switched places with your older self?" Ron sat down next to Harry.
"Severus," Hermione looked up at the sixth year, as Harry reflected silently that she didn't seem to have a problem adjusting to calling her Potions Master by his first name. She sat on an arm of the couch. "I know how to tell."
He smiled at her, "How?" A single eyebrow lowered suspiciously as she blushed.
"Your left forearm," was all she said.
Snape frowned and rolled up the sleeve of his robe and white shirt to his elbow. Standing out black against pale skin was a skull with a snake for a tongue. He bit back a shriek and jumped. "What the hell is that?"
Hermione bit back an unladylike curse at his ignorance. "The Dark Mark, Severus."
The color drained out of Snape's face, making his eyes look bigger and darker, more innocent. "I'm a Death Eater." It wasn't a question. "Then why --?"
Harry cut him off. "You're spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore. That's all. You're not really a Death Eater."
"But --" Snape was cut off again when the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, revealing two shadowed forms.