Chapter Twelve: Into the Future

Severus had noticed that no one was paying all that much attention to Potter's problems anymore. There was other gossip about. Sure, he'd gotten a bit of a laugh at Black, a while ago, but now it was over. All Severus wanted to do was go to sleep.

So he did. He got about a ten minute nap before the librarian woke him up with a sharp tap on the head, and he sloped out of the library, down the hallway, as unhappy as ever.

Before heading back to the Slytherin common room, Severus went to the potions classroom to speak with the professor about some work that would be due in a week, and then he headed out.

As Severus headed down the corridor, toward the common room, he passed by a door and heard voices.

"Isn't time travel dangerous?"

* * *

"Fine." Lily said, folding her arms across her chest and scowling, "You go ahead and frolic off into the past like some dumb bink, just so you can see that I'm right, and you're wrong."

"Aye." James said, with mock concern, "I hope I don't get hurt, will you come with so you can make sure I don't?"

Lily lifted an eyebrow and said, "No, I won't. I honestly don't care if you go....a hundred years into the future instead of the past and get lost and never find a way back! I'd be happy if that happened, I'll be hoping."

"Oh, you don't really mean that." James said mischievously, smiling slightly, "You'd go crazy if I didn't come back because you lo--"

"I don't, Potter. I don't even like you." Lily cut in seriously.

James turned to Remus, having just pretended that he hadn't heard Lily's last sentence, and said, "You're coming, right?"

"Yes." Remus said, stepping forward, taking hold of the chain as Sirius and Peter were already doing. He halfway turned to Ness and said, "Ness, are you--?"

"Nope, she can't come." James said loudly.

Remus turned to him. "Why not?"

"She has to make sure that Evans doesn't try to follow. And don't look at me like that, Evans, you know you were thinking about it. You're so curious that you can barely stand there looking so certain that you aren't coming along." James said. Lily turned red.

The door opened.

Severus walked in, looking extremely pleased at the marauders and the two girls who were all staring at him either with their mouths open or with wide eyes, or with both.

"Well, well, well." He said smoothly. His eyes darted from each of their faces to the next, then came to a rest on the time turner that was in James' fingers. "What a surprise." He didn't sound surprised at all, "James Potter and his little gang, holding...what is this?...a little...meeting, shall we say...and this time turner...isn't that against school policy? Tut, tut. And Miss Evans, the mudblood, she's here too....I do wonder if this is enough trouble to get your prefect badge taken away...and you too, Lupin..."

And he smiled at them all.

"Get out." James said forcefully, grinding his teeth, his eyes flashing. "Now."

"All ri--"

"No!" Vanessa said, grabbing hold of Severus' arm as he made to leave. "Don't you realize how much trouble you'd be in if somebody found out about this, James? You're not going anywhere, Snape, until I get a memory charm on you!"

"You're not putting any memory charm on me, wench!" Severus said, wrenching his arm from her grasp.

"Really, Snape!" Remus yelled, "Don't insult her--
"I'll insult your little girlfriend all I want, Lupin. I'm leaving"

"No you're not." James said loudly.

Severus stopped and turned around. "Why not, Potter?" He said dangerously, his hand going toward the wand in his pocket, "What'll you do to stop me?"

"What do you think, Snivellus? I have a time turner. I can turn this and leave from here at any moment. One turn of this wonderful hourglass and off I go to make your life hell. Sound good? Or do you want to keep your mouth shut and go on with what you've got now?"

Severus' smile faded. For a moment he hesitated, and then he turned on his heel and headed for the door.

Vanessa watched as many things happened at once: James turned the hourglass twice, the rest of the marauders tightened their holds on the hourglass's chain, Lily Evans ran forward and took hold of the chain, and Severus Snape ran forward to take hold of it at the same time.

And then they were gone.