Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise belongs to me and I'm not making any money with this.
Time and Tide
"There's still one problem, though," Minerva McGonagall said and put her teacup down onto the desk in front of her.
Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Yes. We need one of them."
"And there's no way we could ever make one of them turn against their master."
"But that's our only choice," the Headmaster said. He took another lemon cookie from the plate between them and turned his head to stare out of the window into the night. "I'm sure you remember Severus Snape?"
"Of course I do," McGonagall replied. "Very intelligent, very headstrong, with a great talent for getting himself into trouble somehow. But he's not the one you had in mind, is he?"
"He was arrested six weeks ago and is currently awaiting his trial," Dumbledore said, as he turned back to face her and reached out to open the upper drawer of his desk. He took out a brown paper folder and placed it on the table.
McGonagall leaned forward, opened the folder and quickly scanned the top page. She'd seen a couple of these Ministry files and knew what to look for. After she'd finished reading, she took a close look at the black and white photograph in the upper left corner. "Twenty. He looks younger," she said softly and leaned back in her chair again. "Why him?"
"He hasn't been a Death Eater for too long yet, and he hasn't been in prison for too long," the Headmaster replied. "And I have a feeling that he'd be the right choice."
McGonagall smiled at him. "Well, Albus, if your feeling tells you so, I'll always rely on it," she said. "Nonetheless – how much havoc could he cause should he decide not to follow your plan?"
"Not too much," Dumbledore replied. "And I won't put this plan into action at any price; I'll have to speak to him, then I'll make up my mind."
#-#
Albus Dumbledore made his visit to Azkaban two days later. He'd been waiting in the visitor's room for almost twenty minutes before two guards entered and led the prisoner inside. The young man shoulder length black hair, pale skin and was wearing dark pants and a loose dark shirt. When their eyes met, he sneered at the Headmaster.
The heavy chains around his wrists and ankles caused a rattling sound as the guards made him sit down in a chair at the table in the middle of the room. Dumbledore waited for the guards to leave and then sat down opposite him. He folded his arms and gave the prisoner a long look, noticing that the younger man avoided meeting his eyes.
"How are you?" Dumbledore asked after a while.
"Splendid," the younger wizard replied.
"I hear your trial is set for next Thursday."
Dumbledore got no reply. He'd always known Severus Snape was rather stubborn, so it didn't surprise him.
"I came here to offer my help," Dumbledore said.
Severus snorted. "I don't need your help."
"It's rather obvious that you need someone's help. Do you still trust in your fellow Death Eaters to help you now?"
The younger man said nothing and just stared down at the floor. It was beginning to become hard for him to keep up his defiant attitude. But he didn't want any help. Asking for help was for the weak, and he wasn't weak.
"Look at where they got you," Dumbledore said.
Again, there was no reaction. Dumbledore stood up, pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet out from under his cloak and slammed it down on the table. "There, look at it!" he said. "They tortured and killed six innocent people. A young woman and an eight year old boy. Look at it! Is that what you wanted?"
Severus turned his head away, not wanting to look and not wanting to know. He'd had enough time to think about a few things since he'd been arrested. Of course, Dumbledore couldn't know that he'd broken with the Dark Side long before; many times he'd thought about just running away and going into hiding, but he'd never dared to try to pull it off.
"Now, even if they got you out of here – do you want to return to them and live your life as a wanted criminal?"
"What do you want from me?" Severus asked in a low voice.
"I want to help you. Because I think that you want more than to just get out of this alive. I want to give you a chance to redeem yourself."
Severus shook his head at the older wizard. "You think you know me so well, don't you? But you have no idea who I am, you have no idea what I think and why I do the things I do."
"I think that you regret joining the Dark Side," Dumbledore said calmly, taking his seat again. "When you joined them, you were an angry young man who thought that this was the way to make the whole world pay for anything anyone had ever done to you. I think you realised pretty quickly that you'd made a mistake, but you couldn't see a way out of it anymore." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. "Just tell me if I'm wrong, I'm willing to listen. I have a lot of time, and I can't imagine that you're in a hurry to get back into your cell either."
"Why would you help me?" Severus asked, looking at him out of narrowed eyes. "You want something from me. Tell me what it is and we can talk about it."
"As I was saying, I want to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Of course, that would require some effort on your part as well," Dumbledore said and stood up. "You have twenty-four hours to make up your mind."
Having said this, Dumbledore turned away from him and strode towards the door, leaving behind a rather puzzled and surprised young man.
#-#
Back in his cell, Severus found himself actually thinking about his old Headmaster's offer. He'd wanted to turn it down immediately, but sitting here in this dark windowless room, there was only one thought prominent in his mind: how much worse could it get?
He was facing a death sentence. And even if his master would help him to escape, old Mad-Eye and his fellow Aurors would try to hunt him down till the end of their days. He'd slipped through Alastor Moody's fingers a couple of times before he'd finally been caught, and he was convinced that the Auror had taken this rather personally.
What he couldn't understand was why Dumbledore had come to him. It was obvious that he wanted something from him. He needed a Death Eater. But there were others. Why had he chosen him? Maybe the old man thought him to be naïve enough to just believe whatever he told him. But he wouldn't be so stupid again. He'd made that mistake before.
Still, from the position he was in, he didn't really have anything to lose by at least asking the Headmaster what he wanted from him in return.
#-#
Dumbledore came back the next afternoon, just like he'd said. Severus didn't waste much time sitting around and saying nothing; he was too curious to find out what the Headmaster had in mind.
"What is it you want me to do?" he asked as soon as the guards had left them alone.
"I want you to become our spy and to help us to defeat your master."
Severus gave him a disbelieving look. "And how on earth am I supposed to do that?"
"Let that be my worry. In return for fulfilling your duties, I will assist you in your trial and make sure that your name will be cleared."
"And then what? I become your loyal servant instead of the Dark Lord's?"
"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "It's your choice. If you agree, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning and take you back to Hogwarts with me."
He could get out of here. Tomorrow. Severus didn't care anymore where he'd go or whether he'd have to sell his soul for it, as long as he could just get out of here. Every hour he spent in here was torture and even though he'd tried to deny it to himself, he knew that he couldn't sustain himself much longer.
"I agree," he said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Tomorrow morning."
#-#
Severus hadn't expected that returning to Hogwarts would feel so good. But after a few weeks in Azkaban, probably all other places looked like paradise.
It was summer, so luckily there were no students around. Actually, there was no one at all aside from Dumbledore, McGonagall and Filch. The caretaker seemed not to care about his presence at all, but Severus was sure that McGonagall didn't quite share the Headmaster's opinion about his being here. She'd greeted him with a nod and a look of open distrust, but she hadn't spoken a word to him yet. Around noon, Dumbledore had allowed him to wander through the school on his own for an hour, and he'd soon noticed that a grey tabby was following him wherever he went. It wouldn't really have been more obvious if she'd followed him around in her human form, but Severus decided to pretend that he hadn't noticed her.
He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, or on most of the nights since he'd been locked up in Azkaban actually, so he spent most of the afternoon asleep in one of the guest rooms before he went up to the Headmaster's office early in the evening.
When he entered the room, Dumbledore and McGonagall were waiting for him.
"Sit down, please," the Headmaster greeted him and Severus took a seat next to McGonagall who kept eyeing him suspiciously, obviously uncomfortable with having to be near him. It didn't surprise him; most people felt uncomfortable in the presence of a Death Eater.
"I'm going to explain to you now why you're here," Dumbledore said. "Are you familiar with the Atteritus curse?"
"I've heard of it," Severus replied. On its own, it was a completely harmless spell. All it did was to weaken its victim over a certain amount of time to prepare it for a second, deadly curse.
"Have you ever used it?"
"No." It was a rather seldom used curse; there were a lot of simpler and more effective ways to kill someone.
"I want you to cast it at him."
Severus shook his head. "That's impossible. I'd be dead before even opening my mouth."
"I know," Dumbledore said. "I don't want you to cast it at him here. Not now."
Severus arched an eyebrow at him.
"We will send you back to a time when he was still just Tom Riddle. There you will cast the curse at him to prepare for our attack in the future."
"Then why don't you simply tell me to kill him then and there?" Severus asked.
"You remember what I taught you about time travel, don't you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," Severus said slowly. "Whatever has happened, will happen."
"Exactly. It's impossible to go back and change the present, but it's possible to go back and influence the future."
"How far back?"
"About fifty years."
"How? There's no way to go back further than a few days at most."
"There are ways," Dumbledore said. "However, the time the traveller will be able to spend in the past is limited, and it will only work if he has a close link to a person in this past."
Severus nodded. "I see. That's why you needed a Death Eater."
"Yes. The jump through time is linked to a certain person, Tom Riddle in this case. It will take you into his immediate vicinity, and you'll have half an hour at the very most to accomplish your goal. But that's merely a guess; we've never done this before, so you might actually just have a few minutes."
"I don't even have my wand," Severus said.
"Yes, I know. It's still with the Ministry," the Headmaster replied. "However, we got a substitute wand for you that should suit you well enough."
"And when will I leave?" Severus asked.
"Tonight. If you are willing?"
"I am."
He wasn't willing to sell his soul to the old man, but he'd at least do this as long as there was something in it for him. Working for Dumbledore could hardly be worse than working for the Dark Lord. Of course, being found out as a spy would result in his death, but the same fate would await him if he turned against the Headmaster, so it didn't really matter which side he stood on. All this time he'd been waiting for a chance to finally make a choice of his own free will again, and this was obviously as good as it would get. He wouldn't let this chance pass him by.
After he'd left the Headmaster's office, he lingered in the dark corridor for a few minutes until he heard the door again. He waited until McGonagall had reached the end of the stairs and had stepped onto the corridor before he approached her.
"You don't trust me," he said softly.
McGonagall winced at hearing his voice; she wasn't used to people sneaking up on her like that. She turned to face him and gave him a long thoughtful look.
"Prove me wrong," she said in a low voice and continued on her way, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the corridor.
"Yes, Ma'am," he said more to himself. "I will."
He'd given up caring about what other people thought of him ages ago, but for some reason, this was different. Maybe because of the way she'd said it. She wasn't waiting for him to fail; she'd sounded as if she really wanted him to prove her wrong.
#-#
It was getting close to midnight when Dumbledore decided that it was time to put his plan into action. He'd given him detailed instructions on where to wait for Riddle and Severus had spent over an hour practising the Atteritus curse until the Headmaster had finally been pleased with the outcome. At least it had given him time to get used to his new wand, but with McGonagall and Dumbledore watching him all the time, he'd felt as if he was going through his NEWTs a second time, and he was glad when it was finally over.
"It takes three people to set up the portal," Dumbledore explained. "Severus, you'll have to initiate the portal, and we will assist you in activating it."
Dumbledore took a rolled up parchment from his desk and handed it to him. "This is the incantation. You'll cast the spell at the candle in front of the wall over there, then the portal will open up."
"All right," Severus muttered. He'd never done anything like this and didn't have much of an idea what Dumbledore was talking about, but he was convinced that the Headmaster would have mentioned it if there was anything problematic about it.
He unrolled the parchment and scanned the five lines written in black ink. It was definitely the longest incantation he'd ever seen.
He took a step towards the candle, pointed his wand at it, cleared his throat and began reading the incantation. As he was reading the words, he felt a surge of energy run through him – magic, too powerful for him to control it.
The naked wall behind the candle began to shimmer and the solid stones seemed to disappear and were replaced by the view of a nightly landscape, blurred and hazy as if reflected by the surface of a lake.
Standing to either side of him, Dumbledore and McGonagall raised their wands and a long dark tunnel formed in the center of the shimmering image.
"Your turn," the Headmaster said. "Good luck."
Severus nodded and stepped forward, right through where only a few seconds ago there had still been a solid wall. He could smell the humid air and felt the warmth of the summer night as he walked on, and then suddenly the tunnel and the Headmaster's office disappeared, and he found himself standing all alone in the middle of a dark landscape.
On a small hill in front of him, he saw a big old house, the Riddle House. Tonight, Tom Riddle would come here to kill his father. Now, all Severus had to do was to wait for him.
Riddle had most probably apparated directly into the house, but not knowing the house and where to apparate, Severus would have to sneak up there and break in instead.
He lingered in front of the gates a little, walking up and down and glancing around, wondering if he should simply climb over it or if it would be wiser to try entering the grounds from somewhere where he was less likely to be seen.
Then he noticed movement on the other side of the iron fence. It was a man, and he was limping. The man stopped walking, turned to look at him and Severus quickly started walking down the path leading along the fence, trying to look as unsuspicious as possible. Obviously, it had been good enough, because a moment later he could see the man limping away again.
Severus stood hidden in the shadows for another moment before he remembered that he didn't have any time to waste.
He continued on his way along the fence until he felt that he'd gotten far enough away from that strange man. Then he climbed over the iron fence and under the cover of night he made his way towards the house.
He unlocked the back door and entered the dark house. It was totally quiet, which meant that Tom Riddle had most likely already finished his job here.
Severus crossed the kitchen, walked along the corridor and hid in a small stone alcove, careful not to touch the suit of armour standing in it. Dumbledore had described everything to him very well, and he'd told him to wait at this very spot, so that was what he'd do. He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrated and whispered the spell that made him melt into the shadows, invisible to anyone who didn't run straight into him.
He held his wand tightly in his hand, peering into the darkness, waiting for something to happen. He could hear his own breathing, but nothing else. He just hoped that Riddle was still here and that Dumbledore hadn't sent him back too late.
Then he heard footsteps. Severus held his breath. Slowly walking down the stairs came a young man, almost still a boy, probably even younger than he himself. Looking at him, it was hard to believe that he was soon to become the most feared dark wizard this world had ever seen.
What if he just killed him? So much pain and sorrow would never happen if Riddle died here and now. But there was nothing he could do. It was impossible. He knew it, but it was still difficult to accept.
Severus felt his heart beating faster as the young man approached him. As soon as Riddle had finally walked past him, Severus pointed his wand at him and whispered the spell, inaudible against the sound of his footsteps on the wooden floor.
Riddle didn't noticed anything; he just walked on, down the corridor and into the living room.
Severus remained hidden in the shadows until a moment later, he heard the familiar sound of someone disapparating nearby. Just for safety, he waited a few more minutes, listening intently for anything that might indicate someone else's presence in the house, but he was obviously alone now.
He leaned back against the wall, staring into the darkness around him. The portal would open up somewhere close to him, so he didn't feel the need to take the risk of sneaking out of here again. It was bad enough already that that bloody housekeeper had seen him lingering around in front of the gates.
Severus took a deep breath. He'd done what Dumbledore had asked him to do; would the Headmaster do what he'd promised? What could Dumbledore actually do for him? And why should he? He had what he wanted, after all. It was probably a stupid idea to rely on him.
He could simply stay here. Actually, Dumbledore had helped him to a perfect escape; nobody could ever come after him, and nobody here would ever search for him.
Before he could really delve into this thought, he saw the wall in front of him changing and the portal opening up.
Severus was quite aware that if he wanted to make a decision, he'd have to make it quickly. He could do the right thing, or he could try to take the easy way out.
If life had taught him anything, it was that what looked like the easy way often turned out to be the opposite. When they'd locked him up in Azkaban, he'd decided that it was time to stop running away. He couldn't run forever, and he wouldn't start with it again now; it had never gotten him anywhere.
He stepped forward, into the dark tunnel, and a moment later he found himself standing in the middle of Dumbledore's office again.
"Did everything go as planned?" the Headmaster asked.
"Yes," Severus replied in a low voice as he placed the wand back on Dumbledore's desk. He was convinced that it would make everyone feel a lot more comfortable if he didn't have a wand in his hands;, including himself.
"You cast the spell at him? Unnoticed?" McGonagall asked.
"Yes, I did. But there was a man, he saw me at the gates. Probably the housekeeper or something like that."
"The gardener," Dumbledore said. "He mentioned it to the police, but of course no evidence was ever found."
They stood in silence for a moment, and Severus could feel their eyes on him even though he didn't look at either Dumbledore or McGonagall.
"What now?" he asked. "Are you going to take me back to Azkaban now?"
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "You know that I have to."
Severus nodded.
"Although there's no need to take you back right now, we can just as well wait until tomorrow morning. You can stay in the guest room for the night."
"Thank you, sir," Severus said, lowering his eyes to the ground. He couldn't understand what made the Headmaster so sure that he'd actually done as he'd been told to. H could just as easily have done nothing at all and simply be lying to him now.
Dumbledore smiled at him. "Why should you not have done it?" he asked softly. "It was the only logical and sensible thing to do."
Severus frowned at him. More than once during his time as a student he'd thought that the widespread rumour about the Headmaster being able to read his students' minds might actually be true, but he'd given up believing in that myth a while ago. Maybe he shouldn't have.
"Professor McGonagall will lead you back down to your quarters."
Severus nodded and followed the Deputy Headmistress out of the office.
They walked along the corridors in silence, their footsteps echoing loudly through the empty castle. Only now, Severus realised how long ago it seemed that he'd left Hogwarts, and yet it hadn't even been three years. Too much had happened since then.
"Proof enough?" he asked once they'd reached the door to the guest room.
"Do you think it is?" McGonagall asked in return.
He stood still for a moment, staring at the floor. He'd wanted her to say it was, but he knew it wasn't. Not nearly. Without another word, he turned away from her and went into the room, closing the door behind him.
-end-