The Well-Tempered Piano
by Richan
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, and it's actually a twist to the Severitus plot. So I really can't claim that either. Just my variation.
Warnings: Violence. The second ending has slash, but don't read it if you don't want to. I'll remind you again about it when it's posted.
Spoilers: thru OotP
Summary: What if James Potter really wasn't Harry's father? Lily meets Harry's father when she is thrown back in time. Now her son must over come this news and defeat Voldemort.
Notes: The title is taken from The Well-Tempered Piano, Part 1, by Johann Sebastian Bach. Each part has a different movement, set to the tone of the music. Since this is a variant of the Severitus fics, I thought it would be appropriate for the parts to be named after variations on Prelude and Fugue.
This story is the result of a plot bunny holding the others at wand point until it was written. Beware of evil plot bunnies like this and take precautions. Do not let them take over!!!!!
Prologue
E Flat Minor
Lily Evans knew that she was going to have a bad day from the moment she woke up. Her alarm hadn't gone off when it was supposed to, and then she'd been the last one in the bathroom, leaving her with no hot water and the mirrors fogged up.
When she'd finally gotten dressed, she went to pack her bag for the day, only to find out she was missing her DADA book. That meant two things: Potter had stolen it, or she had left it down in the common room, and then Potter had taken it. Either way, it wasn't looking too pretty.
Lily had just entered the Great Hall when the bell rang and the tables cleared, putting an end to the idea that she could grab at least a couple pieces of toast and eat them on the way to Charms.
Potter and Black were laughing at something that was more than likely stupid as she sat down in class. Flitwick was already handing out the essays they'd turned in last week, chattering to the Hufflepuffs on Lily's right.
Flitwick eventually started lecturing on the different time charms, used in varying fields of Auror and Unspeakable work regarding Dark objects. "These time charms are also useful when storing everyday objects," the diminutive professor continued. "But they are only to be used for objects that do not have a living source of magic. Studies have shown that when they are done on magical creatures that their innate magic will warp the charm, changing both the time and destination of where the charm was directed."
"Now, I'd like for all of you to practice on the feathers before you, and then we will work on sending your books a few minutes into the future."
The first thing Lily noticed was her head was throbbing madly. The second was that she was lying on something very plush, almost too rich to be a bed.
"Miss?"
A green eye opened the barest slit before slamming back down at the bright light aimed at her eyes.
"Sorry, miss," the man's voice said.
This time Lily listened to it and shivered.
"Cold, miss?"
'No, I'm most certainly not,' she thought. 'Your voice is hot enough to melt my insides.'
"Is she waking up?" another voice, this one female, asked.
"Yes," the man snapped. "Did you find anything else?"
"No."
There was a shuffling sound, and then a door shut.
"Are you going to open your eyes?" the man asked.
Lily struggled to open her eyes. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on the man standing next to wherever she lay. Wild black hair and pale, blue-green eyes stood out in a face that could almost double as James Potter's.
The man smiled charmingly. "Awake now?"
Lily nodded her head, and then rued the action, uttering, "not really."
The man frowned, but Lily couldn't understand why. She looked at him closer and saw he had a reddened scar across his throat, as if someone had tried to kill him fairly recently.
"Who are you?" the man finally asked. "And why are you here?"
"I'm Lily Evans," she answered. "And where is here? The last think I remember is being in Charms."
"Charms?" He was even more alarmed.
Lily slowly nodded, setting of the pain once more. She touched her hand to her temple. "Yes. Professor Flitwick had us practicing the ab abitus charm. Is Headmaster Dumbledore here yet? Were you visiting him?"
The blue-green eyes hardened. "Miss Evans," he said in a sharp tone.
Lily couldn't breathe, trying to suck air in. Where was she? She certainly wasn't...
"I need to get to Hogwarts!" she cried in a panicky voice. "Headmaster Dumbledore!"
Blue-green eyes softened. "My dear Miss Evans, you are at Hogwarts."
"But... where's Professor Dumbledore? Professor McGonagall?"
"What year is it?" the man asked, startling Lily from her hyperventilation.
"1977, of course," she spluttered.
The man sighed, as if in understanding. "Miss Evans, I know what the problem is. You've time traveled, from what I'm estimating. It is, according to the King down London way, the year Nine-hundred-eighty-nine."
"What?!" Lily blinked rapidly. "But... but... who are you?"
The man gave another charming smile. "Please allow me to introduce myself, Miss Evans. I am Salazar Slytherin."
Lily gave a hitched breath and promptly passed out.
Lily smiled at the boy seated across from her. It was hard to believe that she had been here two years already. When she had woken up - embarrassed - Salazar had acquainted her with all the teachers. She had been amazed at how friendly the founder of Slytherin house and how gruff Godric Gryffindor was. The founder of her house was strict, much like McGonagall, but was very much a man's man.
"Miss Lily?" the boy asked.
She smiled at him. "Yes, Cariodic?"
"Do you like being married to my dad?"
Lily gave a besotted laugh. "Yes, I do, young Cariodic."
An older boy seated next to Cariodic snorted. Lily looked at her older stepson, Padric. The two boys had personalities oceans apart. At nine, Cariodic was a sweet boy who was spoiled by the other teachers, yet wasn't bigheaded about it. Padric, on the other hand, was fourteen and the grouchiest and grumpiest person she'd ever seen - even more so than Severus Snape, a Slytherin in her year.
Padric was not happy his father had married Lily - that he'd remarried at all was more like it. His mother had raised him exclusively until he was four, when she met and married Salazar. Padric's father had been killed before he was born, and his mother had married Salazar to give him one. She herself had died when Cariodic was four. Since then, Salazar had raised both boys at the school.
When Lily had arrived, she had helped watch Cariodic when Salazar was teaching, now that he was at the age for his own schooling. From that alone, Lily and Salazar had become friends. Six months ago, that had all changed when Salazar had suddenly kissed her.
She had been wary when he asked her to marry him, scared that the charm that had brought her here would send her back suddenly. Lily did not want that to happen.
Eventually, she had said yes, which had led to their wedding three weeks ago. They had then traveled through the Scottish countryside to modern-day Edinburgh - as modern as it really was in that time period. Salazar and Lily had returned yesterday evening, hurrying to get back to Hogwarts because the new school year started in two days.
Now they were all seated in the Teacher's Hall with the rest of the teachers and staff, along with their families. Rowena's two sons were discussing something with Godric, their wives talking between themselves. Only Helga was actually eating and not chatting. Lily gave the slight woman a smile as she looked up and was given a sunny grin in return.
Eventually they finished eating, and Salazar stood. He raised his goblet to Lily and nodded. She nodded and lifted her goblet to him.
"Welcome, everyone, to another school year," Salazar greeted. He smiled at his co-founders, then at Lily. "I am happy to announce that my new wife will be helping us this year with a new subject: Care of Magical Creatures. It will be offered to students fourteen and older, and will be held in the atrium off of the entrance hall."
Lily flushed at the round of applause that greeted the announcement.
"You can use Millie if you would like, Lily," Rowena's oldest son said, offering his Thestral.
Lily have him a gracious smile. "Thank you, Thaddeus."
This opened up a cavalcade of offerings from the staff, including Godric's phoenix. Lily flushed once more, happy that she really did fit in.
Cariodic should have known his brother was up to something that day four years ago, when Padric had asked Lily to help him with Charms. Their stepmother had just announced that she was pregnant, and Salazar had yet to stop beaming from the news.
Padric had always been jealous of anyone close to Cariodic's father. Learning he would be having another child was the last straw.
Cariodic knew how his brother's mind worked - just like their mother's, from everything he'd been told. He had watched Padric closely, so he had seen everything that had happened, but Salazar had listened to the poison Padric had brewed after Lily had disappeared, and so he had disregarded anything Cariodic had to say about Lily.
He was tired of it all now. Lily had disappeared four years ago. That's how long Cariodic had had to listen to his father's vitriol about muggleborns, beginning to call them the derogatory name of Mudbloods. Godric had told Cariodic it would get better, but it hadn't. It had even gotten to the point that Godric and Salazar were fighting constantly about Slytherin's wish to keep muggleborns out of Hogwarts.
Cariodic set himself at research in the library, both keeping our of Salazar's way and trying to find a way to bring Lily back. He had finally found the charm used to bring Lily here - the same one having sent her back. Determined to do this, even if he wasn't all that old to do such complicated magic, Cariodic had packed a small bag, grabbed Helga's invisibility cloak, and had tromped off to a clearing just inside the forest that bordered the school. It was unlikely anyone would look for him until he succeeded.
Cariodic gathered his things together and wrapped them together in a sling made from the cloak around his chest and back. Sure, he may only be thirteen - almost fourteen - but even he knew something could go wrong. He wasn't taking any chance of being set adrift into time without some provisions. Besides, even if it did go wrong, it was better than being stuck here, although he would miss his best friend, Godric's grandson, Marcus.
A brisk wind built as Cariodic concentrated on Lily and the approximate time she had come from. She had given a date, but it hadn't stuck in his brain. After all, what eight-year-old really paid attention to any adult talking to another adult? Even a future apprentice to Rowena Ravenclaw wouldn't have a perfect memory.
He focused on Lily, imagining her bright, auburn hair and emerald green eyes. He missed his friend so much.
There was a burst of light in his peripheral vision, and Cariodic turned to see a unicorn foal step into the clearing. The wind burst into a horrific blow, and he knew nothing else.
Cariodic was ambivilent about ending up when he had. The spell had pulled him into the time continuum and he had ended up in the year 1951, when Lily Evans hadn't even been born yet.
When he had appeared, it wasn't anywhere near Hogwarts. Cariodic had awoken to find himself in a small glade not far from a manor house. His wand was broken, there was a cut on his forehead dripping blood into his eye, and the unicorn foal was standing next to him, bleating for his mother.
Cariodic had made his way to the manor to ask for help, the unicorn following. There he had met the Potters, an elderly couple that lived in seclusion since the death of their only child in the fight against Grindelwald. The couple had graciously welcomed Cariodic into their family and house, giving him a refuge where he could wait until he could talk, once more, to his friend Lily.
The potters had sent him to Hogwarts with a letter to Headmaster Dippett, with a request to sit both the OWLs and NEWTs. Cariodic had been surprised to learn just how lax the teachers had gotten at Hogwarts. A thousand years is a long time, and many new spells and even new categories had been founded. Still, the students that took the NEWTs (another invention) were only at the level of a fourteen-year-old apprentice under Ravenclaw. Cariodic passed both with flying colors once he was allowed to, Headmaster Dippett having a dispute with the Deputy Headmaster, a man named Albus Dumbledore. Cariodic had been impressed by the man who had defeated the most recent Dark Lord to appear. In Cariodic's time, his own father and Godric had beaten a dark wizard by the name of Morden a few years before Cariodic was born.
What had shocked him the most of what had happened in the last thousand years was how his own father had turned out. Some of the things didn't ring true, but some of them were definitely Padric's influence. The House of Slytherin had fallen far from what it originally had been, and it made Cariodic sad, and he ached inside.
Nine years after he had come forward in time, Cariodic was full of happiness. He had married a beautiful and kind woman, who had just gifted him with a healthy son, whom they named James. Together, Maria, his wife, and he raised their son.
The unicorn foal that had hitched a ride had grown up, residing in the small woods in back of the manor. The steed was protective of James, even if he wouldn't let anyone touch him. That always amused Cariodic, since James was determined to ride him.
When James was in his seventh year, Cariodic kept an eye out for an owl to alert him about Lily's disappearance. He had been ecstatically happy to read in James' first letter, that he had sent from Hogwarts, that there was a girl with red hair by the name of Lily Evans. From then on, Cariodic had enjoyed his son's dealings with Lily, most often arguing her side whenever possible.
The owl finally came a day after Halloween, stating that Lily had disappeared in the middle of Charms. She had reappeared several hours later, crying and clutching her stomach. James had snuck down to the infirmary and watched her sleep. He told Cariodic that she had muttered a couple of names, including his. James had written him right away, stealing up to the owlery.
Finishing the letter, Cariodic had left, grabbing his cloak. He apparated to Hogsmeade and hurried up to the castle in the darkness as day broke. This early in the morning, there was no one around, so he wound his way to the infirmary, and noted that the location was still the same from when the castle had been built. He crept into the infirmary, making his way to where Lily was laying. Her auburn hair was like a halo around her head, reminding Cariodic of the first time he met her.
Lily?"
The woman on the bed shifted. "Sal?"
Cariodic sighed. "No, Lil. It's Cariodic."
One green eye opened. "Cari?"
"Yes, Lil. It's me."
Lily shot into his arms and started crying. "What happened? Why are you here?"
"Shh, Lily. I'll tell you in a moment. First, I need you to calm down." Cariodic petted her hair, trying to get her to a less panicked state. He had felt a lot like Lily did at the moment when he had first arrived in the future, although she had just been separated from a spouse.
Lily gave a watery hiccup and leaned into Cariodic. "When...? I mean, how...?"
He took a deep breath and explained everything he knew. The sun was getting high in the sky when he finished. Madam Pomphrey had checked on her patient when Cariodic had been talking about Padric's poisoning of Salazar. The nurse had promised not to mention Cariodic's presence until he was done, when he would go explain to both the headmaster and James why he was here.
When he was done, Lily had started to accept what had happened, even though she wasn't happy with the situation. Her green eyes were still watery when she asked, "what do I do about the baby?"
Cariodic gave her a hug.
"Oh, honey. There are a couple of things we can do," Madame Pomphrey said when asked.
Lily's eyes snapped. "I don't want to get rid of it!"
"You don't have to, Lily," Cariodic soothingly said.
"Goodness, no!" Madam Pomphrey agreed. "The first option would be for you to have the baby now." She paused as Lily tilted her head. "The second would be to have another woman carry the child."
"And the third choice?" Lily asked.
"The foetus can be placed into stasis until a better time to carry the child is feasible. However, it can only be done until the tenth week. After that, the foetus has a greater chance of a birth defect or even a miscarriage, because that is when the hormones begin developing."
Lily closed her eyes, and Cariodic wished he could make it easier for her. But he couldn't. Whatever she did decide to do, he would fully support her.
"I'll do the third option," Lily finally said. "I'd like to finish out my seventh year at least." There was a sad smile on her face. "Is there any time limit on the stasis?"
Madam Pomphrey shook her head. "There isn't. However, it is best to have the child within five years of the stasis. Your hormones change over time, making pregnancy that much harder on the body in cases like these."
Lily smiled at Cariodic. "Then yes. I do want to do that."
"You're what!?"
Lily flinched at the volume of James' voice. She had expected him to blow up, but not as loud as this.
"James," Cariodic said in a stern voice.
James actually looked sheepish, a feat Lily hadn't thought possible.
"Ok," James said. "Let me get this straight. The girl I've had a crush on since fourth year is actually my step-grandmother, who traveled back in time, and she is carrying my half-uncle. My father is really the son of Salazar Slytherin - mind you, Slytherin being the bane of good Gryffindors everywhere - who traveled forward in time to bring the girl-James-is-crushing-on back but ended up here. Correct?"
Lily nodded, her cheeks flushed from James admitting he liked her. She'd known that he had had a crush on her, but never thought it had gone any further.
"So what do we do now?" James finally asked.
"I'd like for you to help Lily and watch out for her," Cariodic said.
Lily snorted.
Cariodic turned towards her. "It's not that I think you can't defend yourself, Lily. Rather it is a safety measure in times like these. From everything I've heard about the Slytherins from James and Sirius, they will attack you just because your situation at birth. I would rather you have somebody watching your back."
"And who else is better than your own nephew?" came James' excited question.
Lily laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Ever since she'd found out she was a witch, she'd known that the world was strange. This was the ultimate proof.
Ab abitus – time place