AN: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/structures that the fabulous JKR has created. I do not even own the plot, that belongs to the faerie sitting on my shoulder feeding it to me. I have seen many character-goes-back-in-time fics, but I haven't seen one like this. So, if you think I've nicked your plot/character, I haven't, the faerie did ;o) All the spells/potions that aren't in the books were made up. If there are no official incantations for spells in the books then I made them up using the Latin words if I could find them.

I know that most people like to think of Severus Snape as an evil git. In fact until recently reading various Hermione/Snape fics I thought so too. I felt like writing Snape as a nice guy for once. If you don't like Snape as a nice guy then I'd advise you to find another fic.

I would like to thank my delightful and enchanting online friend Bonnie (pauses for round of applause) who spent ages and ages saying that she couldn't help me with this story, but helped me more than she realises by being a great sounding board and who has betaed this chapter (and in my opinion done an excellent job of it) even though she has absolutely no time. And Katie, her very nice sister, who occasionally helped me when Bonnie wasn't on ;o)

AN2: This story has been updated since Half-Blood Prince to include things from the past that HBP revealed, so there will be some spoilers. And OOTP spoilers. In fact just to be safe, spoilers from all books.

Chapter One

"That shouldn't have happened Time," said Fate.

"I know, but it did."

"How did we not see that coming? All those unnecessary deaths."

"I manage all of time. That is but one footnote."

"But it didn't have to… it shouldn't have…"

"But what can we do?" Time asked Fate.

"There isn't anything that we can do, but there is something you can do… send someone back to prevent it."

"Yes. I agree. Let's send her…" said time, pointing to a picture of a woman.

"She's too old and jaded there… she needs to be the same age as he was then… oh… oh… look there, she's the right age there, oh… that's a good opportunity," said Fate, pointing at the same woman a little earlier in her life.

"Yes, you're right, and it'll be easier to do it from there… go on... do it."

"Done."

Seventh-year Severus Snape hurried back from greenhouse five in the pouring rain, his cloak drenched through. He searched his surroundings for the familiar sight of Hogwarts castle.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard a scream then a loud thud, and he whirled around, his eyes looking for what had caused the commotion.

There.

A few meters away from him was a girl laying on her back, her clothes drenched and splattered with mud, a broken wand gripped in her hand.

He jogged over and took out his wand, conjuring a stretcher underneath her. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, and the stretcher started to float. He ran the rest of the way to the castle, levitating the stretcher behind him.

The magical doors leading to the Entrance Hall swung open to admit him.

"Mr Snape!" Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher said angrily as she whirled around at the sound of the door. Some tinsel that she had been levitating onto a Christmas tree fell to the ground as her concentration was broken, but Severus didn't have to suffer the consequences of her anger this time. She had rushed past him and was looking at the girl in the stretcher, and her expression had softened considerably. "Follow me! We'll take her to the hospital wing."

He followed the professor quickly and quietly through the halls and soon they were in the sterile hospital wing. He'd always hated the place. The smell the most. It smelled so lifeless. And then, there was Madam Pomfrey, always acting like a mother hen.

Madam Pomfrey gasped at the sight of the girl, but went to work straight away, first removing the broken wand from her the girls' hand, casting drying charms, then warming charms, and finally finishing with healing all her injuries.

By the time she finished, Albus Dumbledore, the school headmaster, had arrived.

"What happened?" he asked, fixing Severus with a penetrating stare.

"I was coming back from greenhouse five. I was alone. I heard her scream and then there was a thud. I ran to her and I levitated her over to the castle, Professor McGonagall and I came here and Madam Pomfrey started healing her," said Severus shortly, never really one for talking much.

"She had several bruises, three fractured ribs and her right arm and leg were broken. But I have healed all of her injuries," reported the mediwitch.

"But why would a child have so many injuries? She couldn't have got that from a fall, could she?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"It depends on how high up she was," said Madam Pomfrey with authority. "If she were on a broom then maybe… Mr. Snape, did you see a broom anywhere?"

"No, I didn't Madam Pomfrey."

"She looks like she could be a seventh year, maybe sixth, but I doubt it," said Madam Pomfrey, casting a worried glance over the small form of the girl.

"She isn't a student, I don't recognise her. But she couldn't have got here by accident," said Professor McGonagall, addressing the room. "She has a wand, albeit a broken one, so she can't be a Muggle, besides there are Muggle repelling charms in case one of them gets too close."

Dumbledore went over to her and seemed to study her, then he reached for a chain that he saw around her neck and pulled it out. "Definitely not a Muggle," he said, showing the others what he had found. The broken remains of a time turner. "She's must be a future student, and one with an exceptional magical ability. We haven't had to issue one of these since you were at school, Minerva,"

"Does she have any identification on her?" asked Professor McGonagall, raising an eyebrow.

"No," replied Madam Pomfrey, after finishing searching the pockets of the girls' trousers. "But she does have this," said Madam Pomfrey, holding up a bag with the logo WWW on it.

"Curious," said Dumbledore.

"Can we wake her? Is it safe?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Perhaps she can tell is what happened to her."

"Certainly," said Madam Pomfrey, setting the items down on a tray beside her and taking out her own wand. "Ennervate."

The girl moaned and started to stir. A few moments later she opened her eyes, and closed them again, obviously the light was too bright for her.

"Nox," muttered Dumbledore, and all the lights in the room went out.

After a moment the girl opened her eyes took the wand that Dumbledore held. "Lumos," she mumbled and started to squint as a light shone out of the end of Dumbledore's wand, but it was nowhere near as bright as the light that Dumbledore had produced before.

"Hello," said Professor Dumbledore, "how are you feeling?"

"I have a headache," replied the girl.

"Who are you?"

The girl appeared to think intently before she answered. "I don't know. Do you know who I am?"

"I'm afraid we were rather hoping that you would know the answer to that question," said Dumbledore in a calming tone. "Do you remember anything?"

"Uhh…" said the girl, starting to become scared. "I'm not sure."

"You were found on school grounds, near to our green houses, by Mr Snape."

The girl blinked, taking in the information. "School? How is that possible? Where am I?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of the school. This is Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and Severus Snape," said Dumbledore, indicating each person in turn.

The girl nodded, trembling.

"Are you sure that you remember nothing about yourself?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Ummm, maybe it will come back to me… but for the moment, nothing."

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I am sure that Poppy will want to keep you here for a few more days, just to make sure there is nothing wrong with you."

"There is one more thing," said Professor McGonagall, "What do you want us to call you? We can hardly address you as "hey you" all the time, can we."

"Ermmm…" said the girl. "I don't know… any suggestions?"

"Beatrice?"

"Mildred?"

"Eloise?"

"Ummm… do you have any suggestions," the girl asked, looking towards Severus.

"Tara?" he suggested impassively.

"Tara, I like it, what does it mean?"

"She is the Polynesian sea-goddess. Any man who saw her was transfixed by her beauty," said Professor McGonagall, a slight smile on her lips, while the newly named Tara blushed.

Severus raised an eyebrow, "It was the first name that came to me."

"Of course," said Dumbledore, matter-of-factly. But Severus noticed the twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes. "Mr Snape, do you not have a class to go to? And Minerva, now that Tara is in safe hands we should return our attentions to decorating the castle for Christmas. Aren't you supposed to be supervising the decoration of Gryffindor Tower? I believe that the Gryffindors have a free period at the moment, and I may have heard young Mr Black talking about charming some of the decorations to explode."

One by one they filed out, leaving Tara alone with Madam Pomfrey. But as Dumbledore was about to go through the door he said, "Tara, I believe that it would be in your best interests, if the school did not know that you are a time-traveller, you must keep it a secret for now. But in the event that you do remember something important, I would like you to come and tell me."

"Where have you been?" Lucius asked Severus when he arrived at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.

"I found a girl out at the greenhouses, now Dumbledore wants me to make friends with her," said Severus rolling his eyes. "Should have just left her where she was."

It was dinner and Severus had just come down to the Great Hall. He had to spend most of the afternoon in the hospital wing, talking to Tara, well more answering her questions, on Dumbledore's suggestion. He'd actually had more important things to do, but Dumbledore was Headmaster, and his suggestions, orders. Thankfully, at six o'clock, Madam Pomfrey had told him that Tara needed rest, and that he could come back in the morning to see her.

She is such a chatterbox, he thought, irritated.

"Poor little Severus," said Lucius. "Still Dumbledore's pet project. If you just go along with it, he might think he's succeeded and give up."

"I somehow doubt it," said Severus, sardonically. "More likely it'll encourage the old goat."

"I have one announcement to make before we start," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Today, a young woman was found unconscious near the greenhouses." There was a collective gasp, and bursts of chatter broke out through the Great Hall. "Silence," said the Professor, raising his voice over the noise. "We do not know how she got there but upon examination we have found that she has no memory of herself or her experiences, but she does know magic. Since she has magical abilities, it has been decided that she will stay with us until she has fully recovered. That is all."

On the word all, the platters and bowls in front of them filled with food and Severus loaded his plate.

"Albus, What do you think of our new guest?" Minerva asked Dumbledore.

They were sitting in his office, enjoying some tea as they often did on Friday evenings.

"She is a mystery, one that I would like to learn as much about as I can. But these things have a way of revealing themselves to us only when they are ready."

"Do you think she could be from the future?" Minerva hazarded.

"She could be, but the time turner has never been used to send people back more than twenty-four hours. Yet, she must be from at least six years into the future."

"Maybe that is the effect of breaking the time turner while wearing it."

"So, Tara, what are we going to do with you?"

"Sir?" asked Tara, a little unsure.

She had been in the care of Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing for two days now and was tired of the constant fuss the medi-witch made over her.

"Madam Pomfrey and I have tried every charm that we know that could possibly get your memory back, to no avail. I have made discreet enquiries to all the heads of every wizarding school and nobody seems to know your identity. I would like to avoid putting an advertisement in the newspapers for the moment."

"So what are you going to do with me?"

"I have announced to the school that you will be staying with us until your memory is recovered, but you will find the days long and boring if there is nothing for you to do, so I have arranged it so that you can take classes with the students of this school."

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore."

"After you have been tested, I will arrange for textbooks to be sent to you from Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley, and Madam Malkin will be coming to the school, to fit you for your school robes in a few days."

"But I don't have any…"

"They will be paid for out of the schools accounts, we have an emergency fund for students, I'm sure this can be counted as an emergency."

"Thank you Professor," said Tara stupidly, wishing that she could say more, but she couldn't find the words. So she hugged him instead.

"You're welcome, Tara," he replied with a chuckle.

Over the next few days Tara had several visitors, mainly professors establishing her skill with a wand, Madam Malkin had come and quickly taken her measurements. She met a few students, who came in to get something healed, most notable was a boy called Sirius Black who came in with James Potter, who had managed to get his arm broken by a Bludger. Some came back to chat with her, some brought her clothes to wear, instead of the (as Lily Evans put it) nasty hospital wing robes. Severus had been to visit her a few times, which she suspected he'd been pushed into. He'd brought her some books to read to wile away the hours and then they'd discussed them while he visited

Finally, after a week of being fussed over, Tara was able to leave the hospital wing and join the rest of the students, but she was to have her own room until she could be sorted. She was to take all the classes that she could for the two weeks that remained of the term (with the aid of the time-turner of course) and then decide which classes she wanted to take for the rest of the year.

After the week of being cooped up in hospital wing with almost nothing to do, taking classes was more exciting than she could have imagined (with one exception).

Professor McGonagall said she had a natural talent in Transfiguration. Charms came quite naturally too, Flitwick the professor had clapped excitedly as she performed all the advanced charms that he could think of. Nothing was more boring than History of Magic, even watching paint dry would have been more exciting. After ten minutes of Divination she'd decided it was complete nonsense and to never go there again. Ever. She loved Ancient Runes, more practical than Divination. Muggle Studies was good, although she had the feeling that it was all familiar somehow. Care of Magical Creatures was great, In her first lesson the professor captured a unicorn and they were allowed to study it for an hour, until she let it go, then they spent the rest of their time learning about dragons, mooncalf and re'em.

She spent most of her free time with Severus who showed her around the castle and escorted her to as many lessons as he could, which made most of the students stare. Apparently they weren't used to seeing him being nice to anyone that wasn't a Slytherin. Most people tended to stay away from her because she hung around with Severus, but Lily and her group of friends as well as few others people Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were still friendly with her.

By the time the first week was up she had already decided on the extra classes she was going to take, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies. It had been a bit of a struggle, but she managed to convince the teachers to let her take an additional third subject. Severus had tried to convince her not to take Muggle Studies, but she quickly silenced him with the threat that she would drop Ancient Runes instead.

In her second week at the school most of the teachers didn't do much teaching - well they couldn't, everyone was too excited about the upcoming holiday. Even the strict Professor McGonagall was reluctant to teach, the only person who made them take proper lessons, was Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher. Tara supposed that since he was dead, the holidays didn't matter much to him.