Title: Cracking The Hourglass
Chapter: 1. Masking Marks
Author: MajinSakuko
E-Mail: MajinSakukoyahoo.de
Beta-Reader: Persephone Lupin
Disclaimer: I own nothing, JKR everything else
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing/Main-Chara: HP/DM, SS/RL, LM/NM
Rating: PG-13
Genre/s: Drama, Romance (Slash), Action/Adventure
Summary: Playing around with the time is nothing recommendable, in general. But what was one to do when one hasn't got any other chance? Voldemort's last assault was devastating and forces a couple of our heroes to right history's wrongs.
A/N: The scene with the snail was not entirely original.

Pansy Parkinson was bored out of her mind. And back again. There was no way of escape. She sighed and continued to rub her nails under her desk. If Pansy had known that the rough piece of paper she was holding was quite similar to the Muggle invention of a nail file, she probably wouldn't have used it. But she didn't know it, so she had at least something to do. Something apart from what she should be doing, that was. A quick glance to the side confirmed that Draco was doing perfectly fine so far. Though, he did seem to sweat slightly more than under normal circumstances. Pansy shrugged it off. That was most likely a side effect to the grow-spurt potion they were supposed to be brewing. Pansy smirked as she observed how Snape loomed over the Gryffindor side of the dungeons; quite like the proverbial bad omen. Oh yes, Double Potions were indeed her favourite lessons. Boring, as she used to dump all the work onto Draco, but amusing nonetheless in times when it came to watching how Snape took off Gryffindor points.

"Ron!" Harry hissed lowly, as he shoved the freshly chopped beetle wings towards his potions partner, who was currently stirring their concoction.

"Seven, eight, nine... what?"

"Where did you put the dung-bomb the twins gave us?" He caught sight of Snape two tables before them, probably already taking points off. It was the perfect opportunity to get back to Malfoy for the last time he had gotten them into trouble. Even though it was likely that they would get detention, Harry and Ron would use their chance. After all, this grow-spurt potion was an essential part of the mark, and if Malfoy muffed it, then every punishment would be welcome. "Snape isn't looking, come on."

"It's a spelled parchment in the Divinations textbook," Ron whispered back, adding the next ingredient.

Harry quickly made sure that the coast was clear, before diving under the table and searching in Ron's bag for said parchment. He whispered a low "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good", tipped his wand against it and stood back up, the dung-bomb now half hidden in his sleeve.

"As amazing as the dungeons must appear from the perspective of a slug, Mr. Potter," a cold voice said right behind Harry, as he stood back up, "I would appreciate it greatly if you refrained from crawling around on my floor. Five points from Gryffindor for disarranging the dust with your robes." Snape paused as half of the class erupted in snickers - the half adorned in green, of course.

"I was just searching for-" Harry tried to justify himself, indignantly, coming up with a good lie.

"Your brain perhaps, Potter?" Even more snickers. "Give it up, already. Something you wanted to add?" Snape sneered.

Harry gritted his teeth, seething, and saw out of the corner of his eye that Ron shook his head. For once the redhead was the voice of reason. He shifted his arm in an uncertain angry movement, and Ron grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

"How very touching," Snape drawled. "Mr. Weasley for once trying to keep a cool head." As this was indeed something out of order, Severus was immediately convinced that the two up-to-no-goods had something up their sleeves; quite literally as Snape would see soon enough. Quickly scanning their desks and the area around them, Snape's eyes brightened evilly as he caught sight of a small package Harry tried in vain to hide from him. "Hand that to me, immediately!"

"W-what?"

Snape narrowed his eyes angrily and snarled through gritted teeth. "Do not play me for a fool, Potter. Hand me that package, at once!" The Potions master held out his hand expectantly.

"Oh, that!" Harry laughed nervously. "Um, I found it under the desk..."

Snape ripped the dung-bomb roughly out of Harry's hand. "Why don't I believe you? That will be additional 20 points from Gryffindor and detention tonight with m-," the fingers of his right hand twitched faintly, "Mister Filch for obviously trying to play a prank in my lesson." He was being summoned. Great. Exactly what he had needed at the moment.

"Malfoy, Granger!" Snape barked suddenly, causing not only these two students to flinch. "I have important business to attend to. You two will be responsible that not one single cauldron," at this he shot a scathing glare towards Neville Longbottom, causing the poor boy to tremble even more and swallow dryly, "is going to implode, explode or produce anything but the assigned grow-spurt potion. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Malfoy drawled, smirking, and added the finishing touches to his and Pansy's potion.

Snape furrowed his brows at the tone of voice Draco was using, but then snapped at Hermione for not answering immediately. "Are you gone deaf!"

"Um, no, I mean, yes, sir," the girl stuttered, surprised at getting this responsibility from the Potions master.

But Severus didn't hear half of her answer, as he had already swept out of the dungeons, heading towards his personal chambers. Practically running after he had uttered the password, Severus barged into his bedroom. His eye caught sight of a bright red envelope, lying neatly on his bed. It seemed so out of place, residing on a black nest of satin, that Severus had to smile. At least he had something to look forward to when Remus would be coming tonight (which, he presumed, was the letter about), and maybe his lover would even be staying until the next day. That thought would definitely be an incentive to try and come back as soon as possible from the Death Eater meeting. Remus' soft hands would let the pain magically disappear; in his arms Severus could be himself, not afraid of showing himself, could abandon his mask. He closed his eyes briefly, reliving their last encounter which had taken place somewhere between the black satin on his bed; he still hadn't figured out how they had ended on the rough rug in front of the fireplace afterwards. Remus was indeed quite intoxicating...

Severus shook his head roughly. Oh Merlin, he was reduced to a mere hormone-driven teenager when thinking of his love. And yet he was an independent adult wizard, Hogwarts' infamous Potions master and part-time spy- The soaring pain raced through his entire left arm, indicating that Voldemort was getting impatient.

'Well, so much for the independent adult wizard,' he thought dryly, hastily preparing to leave. Clutching the Death Eater robes in his hands (he would don them once outside Hogwarts for obvious safety precautions), Severus grabbed a handful of Floo powder and yelled, "Albus Dumbledore." The fire quickly changed to green, but died down immediately afterwards. Bewildered, Snape tried it again, but it wouldn't work. He cursed softly and took off towards the headmaster's office. He couldn't leave Hogwarts without informing Dumbledore first, not only because he was summoned, but also because he had left his class supervised by Granger and Malfoy; definitely not a pairing that worked together too well.

"Good job there, Severus," the Potions master chastised himself scowling. "Malfoy is most likely going to insult the girl, Potter and Weasley will come to her defence, and sooner than you thought possible half of the class is hexed unconscious! Now you can indeed leave to serve your master without any worries left behind..."

Thankfully, Snape didn't encounter anybody. His mind reeled frantically as he thought about what this meeting's purpose could be. Over three weeks now hadn't he been summoned; this was indeed a very long time, and he had started to get more edgy than normally, unsure when Voldemort would be calling. The last time had ended remarkably painful, and Snape gripped his left arm tighter, although the burning sensation had cooled off, if only slightly.

A few moments later, Snape arrived at Dumbledore's office. Albus tried in vain to hide the large piece of Sachertorte, but Severus only shook his head, exasperated. Trust him to find Albus in a compromising situation, even though lunch was only twenty minutes ahead. He was worse than any four year old, couldn't control himself for two hours straight. However, this wasn't the problem at hand.

"Oh, Severus," Albus said. "Be careful. We do not know why Voldemort is summoning you. Three weeks are a long time. He may have planned something." The rather large patch of chocolate on his cheek affected his serious tone.

Snape gritted his teeth, still clutching his robes to his chest. He didn't doubt that even if he hadn't his Death Eater clothes in his hands, Dumbledore would know what he had wanted. "Why do I even bother to tell you anything when you know everything even before I open my mouth?" he growled lightly. "What did I even want to tell you?" he added rhetorically.

"You wanted to ask me if I could take over your fifth year Potions class, for you fear that Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy, whom you have temporally conferred this duty on, probably won't be working together well enough. I'll do it gladly."

Snape just glared blankly. "I guess I remember now," he then said dryly. He nodded towards Dumbledore, then turned around to leave, but stopped suddenly, looking at his left arm.

"Severus?" Albus shuffled around his desk and reached out with his right hand.

"It... stopped." The Potions master looked up and met the headmaster's equally confused gaze. "The Dark Lord doesn't allow the pain to stop before his... slaves," he spat disgusted, "have arrived. It doesn't even tingle anymore." Severus pulled his sleeve up and looked at the pale skin.

"It stopped?" Albus' voice sounded uncharacteristically puzzled.

Snape twitched faintly, a picture of what had happened during the last Death Eater meeting shot through his head, as Voldemort had used a new curse on him. It hadn't been too bloody, but painful enough to make it crystal clear that the Dark Lord's suspicions about Snape's loyalties hadn't been diminished entirely... and excruciating enough to give him a taste of how it would be like if he ever found out that one of his Inner Circle Death Eaters were indeed a spy for the Light.

A half luminescent sign flashed over Severus' Dark Mark.

"Oh, no," he drawled icily, raising his head and smirking at Albus with an almost eerie calmness. "It has just begun."

"Finally, our last battle is about to begin," Voldemort's cold voice hissed towards the gathered Death Eaters around him. "You all will see how we will today, for now and for all, beat the Light into the ground!" The hooded figures cheered excitedly.

"Now," You-Should-Know-By-Now calmed them down again. "It is indeed a meaningful event, this will go down into the history books as the biggest day ever! Harry Potter," he spat, disgusted, "will face his ultimate battle... and he will LOSE!" More cheering ensued, then stopped quickly. "I regret, though," Voldemort went on, his red eyes glowing brightly as his nearly lipless mouth turned into a cold sneer, "that not all of my followers were as loyal as I wished them to be... Do not fail me too or you will end like the traitor! His fate, should he survive the battle, will be even worse than Potter's!" The last magical animals fled from the Forbidden Forest as the enormous amount of Dark Magic erupting from the Dark Wizards was finally too much to take even for them. "Now go on, my faithful followers," Voldemort encouraged. "Have fun! But do not touch Potter. He is mine."

The Death Eaters parted into small groups, starting towards Hogwarts, as they were held back one last time.

"And just one more thing," the Dark Lord added, smirking diabolically. "Remember to not take prisoners..."

"You filthy little Mudblood!" Draco screamed, about to pounce on Hermione. His cheeks were flushed pink and his normally sleeked back hair was dishevelled and hung partially in his dangerously flashing eyes.

"Watch it, Malfoy!" Ron yelled, shielding his friend with his body. Harry held him back from retorting to the name-calling physically. "You are in no position to throw your insults around!"

"Shut it, Weasley!" Blaise Zabini threw in.

"Mind your own bloody business, weasel," Draco snapped. "This goes for you, too, Zabini. Do not interfere with my business!" He then locked eyes again with Hermione and snarled at her, "Give it to me!"

"Malfoy!" Harry cried while Ron bristled visibly.

Hermione, on the other hand, smirked knowingly and patted a hidden pocket in her school robe while she held a wand in her other hand. "Do you mean this?" she asked, clutching the wand securely to her chest. "I don't think so," she added, meaningful. Only herself and Draco knew that she indeed was not referring to the wand but to the secret object in her pocket.

"Just you wait till my father hears of this," Draco threatened, scowling deeply. "You'll get expelled and all your yearlong studying will be for naught!"

"She won't get expelled just because she disarmed you while you were trying to hex her!" Ron yelled; his ears had long ago turned from a middle red colouring to a bright purple. "And now stop your whining before I'll hex you, seriously!"

"I said you should shut up!" Draco raged, and before anyone could possibly stop him, he punched Ron in the jaw. Having no wand to rely on, the Slytherin fell back on his physical abilities. Not that he was stronger than Ron, by no means, but he knew how to use the advantage of surprise.

Little droplets of blood spurted out of the split lip, as Ron let out a small hiss of pain, holding his pulsating jaw with one hand. "That's it, ferret," he growled, before he hurled himself at Draco, fists at the ready and not to be held back by Harry, who tried in vain to keep the fighting at bay.

"Stop it!" Hermione cried. "Ron! Let him go! This will not solve anything!"

The Slytherins were at a loss of what to do, too; Draco had told them not to interfere and they would be stupid indeed if they did otherwise. Blaise growled quietly, watching how Malfoy and Weasley wrestled on the floor and how Potter drew his wand quickly and pointed it at the boys.

But before Harry could cast the body binding spells on the two fighters, there was a deafening cracking noise heard somewhere in the castle. He let himself be distracted as both Ron and Draco had stopped struggling; Ron looking confused, Draco's colouring changing quickly back to unnaturally pale, his eyes widening slightly.

"Ah!" Parvati Patil shrieked suddenly, pointing a madly shaking finger towards the small, bewitched window in the dungeons wall. "Oh Merlin! Oh my god! This can't be... oh my god... this cannot be, can it!"

Draco looked indifferently out of the window, already knowing what he would see.

Dark smoke impregnated the air, farther away, nearer to the castle itself; the Dark Mark floated almost everywhere. After the loud noise, the tranquillity of the moment was a sign of dreadful foreboding.

And then, all hell broke lose.

Insert 1st Sidestory: "Heart of a Death Eater"