Fate
Disclaimer : The characters and basic plot belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter Two
Severus's pale face broke into a large smile.
"You're me ! Lily, I'm Head of Slytherin !"
Lily smiled at him.
Professor Snape looked at Lily. And looked. And looked as if he would never stop.
"Where am I ? Can I meet myself too ?" she asked.
"Not now," said Professor Snape, torn out of his trance. "Children, tell me how you got here... I mean now."
Severus pulled the Time-Turner out of his robe and put it carefully on the desk.
"We found that. We didn't do it on purpose."
" I didn't know what it was," added Lily.
"Of course, you wouldn't," said Professor Snape, gazing at the Time-Turner. Then he looked up at Lily.
"First lesson : never touch an object if you don't know what it is."
She lowered her eyes.
"I'll get you back. You came from 1971, didn't you ?"
The children nodded.
"But first... hum... I never expected such a thing to happen... I know one is not supposed to meddle with time..."
He sighed, got up and began to pace, swishing his black robes around him.
"Severus, I made a mess of my life," he said, suddenly sounding agitated. "Perhaps I could give you... a second chance."
He stopped and looked at Severus.
"I made terrible mistakes," he whispered. "If I could stop you from repeating them..."
" Tell me !" exclaimed Severus eagerly."Tell me what mistakes not to make !"
" Come with me."
Professor Snape walked over to one of the jar-covered shelves and whispered something. A door appeared.
"Come in."
The children followed him inside. They found themselves in a dark corridor. Professor Snape pushed a door on the right.
"Welcome to my apartments.
- You live here ?"
" I do."
They walked into a small drawing room lined with books. There was only one picture on the wall.
"That's your mum !" remarked Lily. "But she looks old."
"She is older than you know her in this picture."
" Is she still alive ?" asked Severus.
"She died a few months ago."
Lily ran to Professor Snape and hugged him. He stood there in shock, then slowly put his arms around her.
"Have bad things happened, Severus ?" she asked softly.
"Very bad things. Listen, Lily, I want to talk to Severus alone .I'll teach him how to correct his mistakes. It will be very hard, though. Come in here."
He pushed a door on the side.
"This is my bedroom. You can stay here while we're talking. What can I give you to do ?"
" Give me a quill and some parchment and I'll draw you a picture. I'll be awfully careful not to get ink on the bed."
" I don't mind if you do," said Professor Snape.
"Good luck, Sev !" said Lily to the younger Severus. " I'll help you if you need help."
Professor Snape shut the door and the two Severusses sat opposite each other at the table in the drawing room. Professor Snape pulled out a parchment.
"I'll write everything down for you."
Severus smiled.
"I bet you're a good teacher."
" Some say so, but not all agree."
This is what Professor Snape wrote :
"1. Do not become friendly with Mulciber and Avery. No matter what they say, they are not your friends. They are using you. You may return Lucius Malfoy's friendship, but do not follow in his path. Also keep away from Wilkes and Rosier.
2. Do not become a Death Eater. Stay away from Death Eaters.
3. No matter how angry you are at Lily, never, ever call her a Mudblood. She would never forgive you."
Severus read the parchment slowly, frowned and looked up.
"What's a Death Eater ?"
" Death Eaters are followers of a certain Dark wizard. Keep this parchment preciously and don't show it to anyone,certainly not to Lily. These instructions will be very hard to follow. You will feel you are driving your only friends away. But remember : your only true friend is Lily. She is the most precious thing you have."
" I know."
Professor Snape looked fondly at his younger self. For years he had hated himself, but here was a boy younger than the young man he had been ashamed of.
"It will be hard, but it will be even harder if you don't follow my instructions. Trust me. You want to be happy and you want Lily to be happy."
"You aren't happy now ? Where is Lily, I mean the older Lily ?"
" I am not happy, Severus. I have made wrong choices, terrible mistakes. Please, please don't make them again."
"You're thirty-one," remarked Severus.
His older self looked old and bitter.
"You aren't friends with Lily any more."
Professor Snape shook his head.
"You must go back now. Please don't forget my instructions. Perhaps I have been given a chance to correct my mistakes."
Severus nodded gravely.
"Hide the parchment. Come, I'll take you back."
Together they went back to the bedroom where Lily was sitting cross-legged on the bed in the middle of a collection of drawings of Hogwarts that she had enchanted to make them mobile and colourful.
"You're brilliant !" said Severus.
"May I keep them ?" asked Professor Snape.
"Of course. I'll make lots more.
-Thank you. We have to say goodbye now."
Professor Snape couldn't remember when he had last hugged someone. He wanted to never let go of the children. But he had to. He carefully placed the Time-Turner around both of them and set it for the 21st of October 1971. Then he let go.
Professor Snape blinked. The children had disappeared. For a second, he thought he might have been dreaming, but Lily's drawings still lay scattered on the bed. Slowly, one by one, he gathered them, looking fondly at each one. Then he hid them away under a pile of parchments in his office.
He had tried. Had anything changed ? Had young Severus found the courage to make better choices this time ?
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