Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, nor any characters or plots

I'm so, so sorry for the long wait on this one! I promise that this story is not on hiatus, and I really don't have any excuses. Hopefully I'll sort of make up for it with the long chapter.

Thanks to Moony1972, Imworth25cents, SunBlinded, Light1172, and LunaScamander for the reviews!

1995

"AARGH!" Hermione shrieked, hands flying up to her ears. She turned to glare angrily at the two redheaded boys who had just apparated on the bed. "Stop doing that!"

Albus gulped nervously as he recognized the boys as nearly carbon copies of Freddy at home, though they had lighter skin and more freckles. Fred and George Weasley. Oh, how was he going to live through this? He had seen his Uncle George at the battle memorials, the way he stared at his brother's tombstone, and the way he seemed dejected for nearly a week after. How was he supposed to act like everything was fine and dandy when one of those two teenagers was going to die in two years?

Which one, though, he wasn't sure. They were identical. George wasn't even sporting the famed hole in his head from a sectumsempra curse. Hopefully Harry had been rubbish at telling them apart as well.

"Hi, Harry," one of them said. "Surprised we didn't hear you upstairs yet. From what you've been sending these two, you ought to be screaming by now."

"You've been reading my mail?" Ron cried, crossing his arms at his brothers.

"Nah, Ginny's doing it for us," the other twin said nonchalantly.

"It would have taken you thirty seconds to walk down the stairs," Hermione said, exasperatedly. "Honestly, it's a waste of good magic."

"Says who?" the first twin asked. "Time is galleons. Anyway, we heard you talking to Mum downstairs, Harry."

"How could you have heard him from all the way upstairs?" Hermione demanded, mirroring Ron's crossed arms position.

Albus watched the argument with wide eyes, trying to comprehend all of the information. Ginny… his mother was here! He desperately hoped they weren't dating, but was relieved when he remembered that it hadn't… developed into anything until his father's sixth year.

Moving on to the next problem, he decided he was going to fake knowing the difference between Fred and George. At least that way he wouldn't be awkward around one of them if he didn't know which was which.

"Why, Hermione, thank you for asking," the second continued. "We've got these." Both reached into their pockets, identical superior smiles on their faces.

Albus realized what they were a second before they pulled them out. "Extendable ears," he whispered before he could stop himself. Giving a slight gasp, he clamped his lips shut and began to mentally berate himself for the mistake.

Stupid. What are they going to think when Fred and George pull them out? What if someone heard? What if they decide you're a Death Eater?

Hermione glanced at him for a second, frowning at him. Albus sent her a confused expression, hoping she would dismiss it as the wind or something.

Meanwhile, Fred and George had pulled the said Extendable Ears from their pockets. The large ears looked more disgusting than Al remembered, attached to thin strands that swung, glistening sickeningly in the streaks of light from the window.

No one said anything, staring in silence at the ears. Hoping to make up for his previous mistake, Albus jumped in.

"What are those, exactly?"

One of the twins, (Albus had lost count of which had spoken first) grinned madly. "These, Harry, are Extendable Ears. We're listening in on the meeting."

"You'd better be careful," Ron remarked. "If Mum finds one of those again…"

"It's an important meeting," one of the twins replied, shrugging. "Worth the risk, little brother. We'll put them through the gap under the door."

"Won't work," another voice announced from the doorway. All five occupants of the room turned to see a rather medium sized girl with long red hair in the doorway, smirking easily at Fred and George. "Mum's put an Imperturbable Charm on the door. Tonks showed me; I've been chucking dungbombs at it for a while and they just soar away."

Al blinked in surprise as he recognized his mother's voice, albeit a bit higher pitched. Ginny looked a bit like his sister, especially the way she sauntered confidently into the room, looking each of the teenagers in the eye. Oh, how was he supposed to act normal now when all of these people were either dead or grown up where he came from? No, when he came from?

Bloody time travel.

Both twins sighed. "Shame," one of them said. "We wanted to see what Snape's up to."

Albus scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as the four other teenagers' gazes turned on him, as if they were waiting for him to explode. Did it have something to do with Snape? What was wrong with Snape? The man's first name was Al's middle name, after all. He was almost offended.

"Snape?" he tried nervously, biting his lip to see their reactions. They weren't accusing him of anything so far, so that was good.

"He's part of the Order," a different twin said. "Giving a big report tonight too."

"His being part of the Order doesn't make him not a git," Ron said bitterly.

"Bill doesn't like him," Ginny added, nodding as if this ended the matter.

Albus nodded, not sure what to say. He remembered his Uncle Bill, but noted in the back of his mind that he wouldn't have his scars yet. Making a mental promise to remember that when he saw the oldest Weasley brother, he racked his brains of what to say.

"We forgot to tell you, didn't we?" Hermione mused. "Bill's here. He's working for Gringotts still. A desk job."

"Forgot something, did you, Hermione?" one of the twins grinned mischievously. "When's the world gonna blow?"

"Stop being so immature," she snapped, frowning at both of them.

"Charlie's joined too," Ginny continued. "He's making contacts for our side."

"Ah," Al said. He counted up the Weasleys they'd mentioned, realizing that his Uncle Percy was still missing. "And what about Un-Percy?" He closed his lips again, hoping that none of them had noticed.

Hermione was still watching him closely. Albus shifted his feet nervously under her harsh gaze.

Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny all looked more tense than before at the mention of their brother.

"Whatever you do," either Fred or George said, "don't mention Percy in front of Mum or Dad. They won't be happy."

Ron nodded vehemently. "They've had a row. Percy thinks we're all barmy, taking Dumbledore's side."

"Called us poor and everything," Ginny finished, glancing down at her shifting feet. Albus felt a surge of dislike rise up for Percy Weasley. He couldn't believe his own uncle had left his family for such a petty reason.

"Anyway," Ron said, awkwardly. "Dad said that Percy was only promoted in the Ministry because Fudge wants to spy on Dumbledore."

Albus didn't need to know much about a younger Percy to know that he would've been furious. His uncle worked the hardest of anyone he knew, and seemed to almost take personal insult when he discovered something unsavory about any of it.

"Blimey, he must've been mad," he said.

"Yeah. He and Dad were arguing about Dumbledore, and that's about when he mentioned, we've always been, you know, a little short on money, and-"

"-That's awful!" Al cut in.

Ron nodded. "And he left. Lives in London now and everything."

"It's been horrid," Ginny said. "He doesn't believe you either; thinks you're batty, Harry."

"Me?" Albus demanded. He had known that his father had been very anti-Ministry as a teenager, and from the stories he had heard from his parents, aunts, and uncles, it had been perfectly justified. But no one had ever mentioned that even one of the Weasley's hadn't trusted his Dad.

"Yeah, mate. The Ministry's hasn't been treating you well lately," Ron said, glancing at Hermione as if he wanted her to explain.

"Harry, you read the paper, right?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"Erm, sure." Albus frowned (something he seemed to be doing a lot of lately). Was she going to quiz him or something?

"Cover to cover?" Hermione demanded.

"Uh…"

"Obviously not." She rolled her eyes. "Harry, it's not on the front page, that stuff. They tuck it in at the ends of small articles, like a joke. As if you're this attention-seeking fluke who wants everyone to worship you. They slip in snide comments. It's 'A tale worthy of Harry Potter', or someone's had an accident, and they'll say, 'Let's hope they don't get a scar and ask us to worship them next.'"

Albus nearly sighed in relief. This he could deal with. He was no stranger to the media and it's false tales, and he was an expert on brushing them off. A bad article in the Prophet about him? No big deal. Sure, some of his "rivals" would snicker, but everyone else would get over it. Life goes on, and the newspapers with the articles are tossed out, or used to line the bottom of trunks, or cover books to keep off the ink.

His father hated the media, and Al knew that. Harry had always gotten more irrationally angry over the ridiculous lies the tabloids liked to tell than Ginny or any of Al's siblings. This was the one thing he knew how to respond to.

"Worship me!" he protested. "That's ridiculous! I never wanted anyone to-"

"-We know, Harry. We're on your side," Hermione cut in. "But can't you see what they're doing? They're turning you into something ridiculous; a joke and a fool. Fudge is behind it, no doubt. They want people to think you're just a stupid teenager who's not worth following, and just wants to be famous."

Albus had had some bad clashes with various newspapers, but that was enough to get even him fuming. "Wha- That's insane! Completely stupid, I don't-"

"We know, Harry," Ginny interrupted.

"And of course, they won't report the dementors at all," Hermione continued. "That should've been big news, out of control dementors. But someones told them to keep it quiet."

Albus sighed heavily. This whole situation… How had his father gotten out of it?

A loud creaking was heard on the steps, accompanied by the tell tale thumps of footsteps. All of the Weasleys stiffened, recognizing the sound.

"Drat," one of the twins said. "That's Mum." With a loud crack! Both boys disappeared. Hermione held a hand up to her ear, wincing, and Ron's frown deepened.

Unfortunately, Ginny was left to scramble back up to her room the old fashioned way, guessing correctly that her mother hadn't yet made the turn up the staircase that would have put her in her line of sight.

No longer risking a shouting match, Hermione, Ron, and Albus each relaxed slightly, though Al made sure to keep up his frustrated face, knowing that acting the part was important, especially with the Order.

"Harry," Hermione said abruptly, turning to him. "Are you-"

The door opened, and a bright faced Mrs. Weasley appeared, smiling down at them. "Dinner. Go downstairs and wash up, will you?"

Ron nodded quickly, eager for food, as his mother continued toward Ginny and the twins. Hermione, however, caught Al's arm as he tried to leave.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright? You've been acting oddly since you got here."

Albus felt his pulse quicken under her sharp gaze, and hoped his palms weren't too sweaty from the lies he was planning to tell.

He took a deep breath. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, Hermione." And with that, he turned back toward the staircase, Hermione in tow behind him.

Al could almost feel her concerned gaze on the back of his neck.

1975

February 1st, 1970

Hi, my name is Lily Evans, and I'm eleven. I just got this book for my birthday, from Petunia. (That's my sister, by the way.) But she doesn't like my friend, Sev. Sev says magic exists, can you believe that? This summer, I'm going to get a letter from a wizard school! I'll get a wand and everything!

Lily frowned as she tried to place the nickname. Sev… The only person who had a similar name was Severus Snape, the headmaster's portrait who liked to sneer at James behind Mcgonagall's back. He had never even looked at Lily, something she wasn't sure if she should be offended or confused about.

But that wasn't possible. Snape seemed like a right pill to her, always snarling at teachers to make the Gryffindor detentions the worst from his portrait in the dungeons. Sure, her brother was named after him, but it was only his middle name, and that could be overlooked. Not to mention Harry had never explicitly explained the meaning of the three Potter childrens' names.

Continuing to frown, Lily tried to recall what she knew about Snape besides his general nastiness. He had been a Slytherin, and he had black hair and a large, hooked nose. Eyes widening in realization, she opened the last drawer of her grandmother's nightstand again.

There it was. Clearly her grandmother, smiling brightly next to a slightly uncomfortable Slytherin boy-with black hair and an abnormally large hooked nose. Popping the discarded picture out of it's frame, Lily turned it over and read the back.

Labeled in neat handwriting that didn't match Lily Evans', read Lily and Severus, 1973

Lily frowned at the picture in distaste. Snape? Really? Hopefully they weren't still friends, as seeing the old professor might even be more awkward than seeing her grandfather. She had some chance, at least, as the photograph had been shoved to the bottom of the drawer.

"Dwelling in old memories, Lils?" Lily, alarmed, turned to see an exasperated Marlene, her large blue eyes occasionally glancing down to the photo in Lily's hands. "Sev was a jerk, anyway. Didn't you hear what his friends did to Mary?" the last sentence was said in a whisper, and Marlene looked over to said girl, as if she hoped she hadn't been overheard.

"Never mind," she continued, louder. "'Course you did. Didn't you tell Snape off for it? Anyway, it's no good to dwell on bad memories, Lily. He's out of your life, and good riddance, really."

Lily found herself nodding involuntarily, making sure that she didn't alert the blond to the fact that she had no idea what the events mentioned had been about. As Marlene turned back to whatever she was doing- it looked like she was doodling on her homework, but Lily couldn't see very well-she flipped further ahead in the diary. She had no intention to read about her mother's relationship with Severus Snape, and from what Marlene had said, it seemed her grandmother was done with him anyway.

She stopped on an entry titled in neater handwriting than before, September 22nd, 1973.

James Potter is so stupid! Today he decided Mary looked better with green hair, and none of us could figure out how to change it back. The arrogant git even transfigured Marlene's pen into a matchstick because he was done with his homework. That annoying Black boy helped as well.

At least Sev's here, but we're in different houses…

Lily frowned, flipping forward more.

December 2nd, 1974,

James was stupid as well today. Joking around in class, the arrogant prick. I noticed he had cuts on his arms too, and so did Black. They were probably the ones up at one in the morning last night, messing around. That means they also woke Alice up, and she slept through the written charms quiz and now she's freaking out.

On another, less annoying but more depressing note, tonight was full moon, and Remus looked sickly all yesterday. He wasn't in class (something about helping his sick mother but please, I know that's a lie) I do hope he'll be up on his feet soon. I think I'll tell him that I know his secret next week…

She felt a surge of affection for her grandmother, who seemed to have no qualms about Remus's lycanthropy. From what Lily had payed attention to in History of Magic, people in the First Wizarding War liked to shun Slytherins and werewolves, often mish mashing the two into the same category-enemies. She felt a surge of relief that she didn't have to remember to act strange around Remus, who had been one of her father's mentors and friends. The fact that Teddy was a metamorphagus helped quite a bit in the "acting normal around Remus" department as well, seeing as he tended to choose his appearances more to fit the pictures of Nymphadora Lupin Lily had found.

She flipped forward a few pages, eager to find the entry about how Snape had lost her grandmother's trust.

Lily frowned at the page, skipping the text to focus on the strange wrinkling and blotches on the paper. Tears. Someone had cried over this book, right on this page, probably as the passage was written, judging by the smudged ink. The writing was erratic and messy, different from Lily Evans's normal rushed, angry penmanship when she talked about James Potter, or the calmer, neater handwriting when she wrote about Snape or the girls who shared her dorm.

Lily focused back on the writing, her forehead wrinkling as she contemplated the entry.

March 14th, 1975

Mary's gone. Mary's gone and we don't know where she is. She could be anywhere, maybe not even on Hogwarts grounds anymore, and Dumbledore's away, so we can't track her. Hestia hasn't gotten out of bed since she disappeared and Marlene shows up to class with red eyes every day. Black and Potter haven't even played any tricks, and it's times like these when I remember that they're the nicest of the ancient wizarding families, along with the Mckinnons. (Which shows to go how horrible the rest of them are.)

But I'm just so angry! No one's seen Avery or Mulciber since the disappearance, and they're part of Sev's group when I'm not with him. I'm tired of standing up for him! It's practically proven that they did something to Mary, and all he can say is "They're not so bad!" They're not so bad? THEY'RE NOT SO BAD? I'm finished with his whole thing. Sev can pick his own friends, but I won't be following.

Mary. Lily turned to look at the girl for a moment, taking in her seemingly bubbly personality. She was muttering in Welsh again, and Alice seemed to be trying to keep up. Lily considered herself a good observer, an expert in catching people's quirks and understanding their motivations. (Of her two other siblings, she was the only one who could effectively plan against a revenge prank.) Either Avery and Mulciber hadn't been too harsh on Mary, which Lily couldn't determine, as she didn't know who either of the two students were, or she was very good at hiding things.

For some reason, Lily suspected that it was the second case.

She turned the page, eager to find out how Mary had made it back. She felt a twinge of guilt at her interest in the other girl's affairs, but if she was going to be Lily Evans, she had know, didn't she?

March 16th, 1975

Mary's in the hospital wing right now. Oh, it's so horrible! She's got scratches all over her, and every time she wakes up, she's shaking. She won't talk to any of us, just Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore. Professor Mcgonagall says that she'll be alright, but we just want to see her. Marlene was all for sneaking it yesterday night, but Alice and I vetoed her. Hestia was neutral, which was surprising, as she's usually on board with all of Marlene's ridiculous schemes, but I think she's scared of the Slytherins now. I just hope Mary will be alright.

In other news, I haven't talked to Sev in a while. I think he's mad because I thanked James and Sirius yesterday in the Great Hall. I didn't mention, did I? James and Sirius found Mary in the dungeons last night. I'm not sure why they were wandering the school at eleven o'clock, but at this point, I don't care. They heard Mary, and walked in to find Avery and Mulciber hexing her. Sirius claimed that he valiantly fought of seventeen Slytherins, but James rolled his eyes and told me that it was just the two. They certainly deserved thanking, and I don't care what Sev says. He can hang out with his Death Eater friends if he wants.

Lily made note of the fact that her grandfather and her father's godfather were addressed as their first names in the passage. Was this how James finally got Lily to like him? She hadn't seemed to mess up much yet, and she had acted like she hated Potter. None of Lily Evans's friends had made any indication that she was doing something wrong, anyway. Did that mean her opinion had changed in just a few months?

Skimming the next page, and realizing that it was just about classes and helping Mary get back on her feet, she flipped forward a few pages, stopping abruptly when she noticed one that had been written in practically all caps.

June 1st, 1975

I'M NOT TALKING TO POTTER OR BLACK EVER AGAIN. THIS WHOLE ENTIRE THING IS RIDICULOUS. THEY'RE BULLIES AND HORRIBLE PEOPLE AND THE ONLY TIME THEY WERE EVER WORTH BEING NICE TO WAS WHEN THEY FOUND MARY, AND THAT WAS ONLY BECAUSE THEY WERE OFF MAKING TROUBLE.

And don't even get me started on Snape. He's despicable; heading to the same places Avery and Mulciber are. Of course, he's right. Mudblood, that's me. Is there a problem with that? Is there?

It's not like he felt any differently about the other muggle borns at school. He called all of them mudbloods; why am I any different? I'm finished. I'll stick with Marlene, Alice, Hestia, and Mary for the rest of the year.

Lily sighed. Okay, so she was right in acting like she hated James. That was a relief. She was still curious about the whole ordeal, but she could understand where her grandmother was coming from. Snape, calling her a mudblood? At least, where-no, when she was from, that was unforgivable. A wartime slur.

There were almost no entries after that, a few more about classes and one Lily looked over briefly about another encounter with Snape. The last few pages of the book were empty, and it looked as if they would only last until the end of the year.

With a heavy sigh and the thought that she was going to have to return to acting again, Lily shut the book and put it back in the drawer. She checked the time on the small alarm clock, noticing that they still had about ten minutes left in the period before she could talk to Mcgonagall.

"I'm, uh, going to get dressed," she announced, motioning toward the bathroom. "Mcgonagall doesn't have anyone next class, yeah?"

"You have Arithmancy, remember Lily?" Alice said, glancing up from reading Mary's letter over her shoulder.

"She'll give me a pass," Lily replied confidently.

"What do you mean? You'll still be late. She'll have to walk you to Arithmancy, and she never does that."

She sighed. There was no way she could explain her whole situation right now. She didn't care if she was late for Arithmancy, and if she stayed, which hopefully she wouldn't, she would get in detention for it anyway. She didn't even take Arithmancy.

"I don't care. I have to talk to her."

Hestia sighed and rolled her eyes. Lily could see Marlene do the same, though half of her face was blocked with a textbook.

Rolling her eyes as well, she turned to one of the closets that lined the dorm walls.

"That's Mary's closet," Alice said, looking at her with concern. "Lily, you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Lily replied, turning toward the closet on the other side of the bed. "I'm fine. Promise." Sighing with relief as she carefully took the neatly pressed uniform out of the closet and headed for the bathroom. The uniform was familiar, and even though she was taking off her worn denim shorts and old sweatshirt that had been a birthday present three years ago, she didn't feel uncomfortable.

She'd fit in more this way, anyway.

"Lily! Let's go! If you want to talk to Mcgonagall, we've got to leave now!"

Lily took a deep breath, stepped out of the bathroom, and prepared to go back to playing a part, however badly she did it.