Severus Snape and the Last Year
By Carla Lute
Notes: If you want to go with the zippered, semi-chronological reading of the Last Year levels, you would read Level 3.11 right after Level 2.11: The Last Dance (aka Chapter 21).
Special Thanks to Imbeni for beta testing.
Disclaimer: This story is based on the Harry Potter novels written by J.K. Rowling. All characters created by J.K. Rowling are owned by J.K. Rowling. The few characters created by me (i.e. Persephone, Hotchet, Kagome…) belong to me, but are available for use in other fics as long as I get credited as their creator. None of us are making any money off this and no infringement is intended.
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3.11 The Dance of Time
He thought the trickiest part would be scheduling things so he would get enough food and sleep. He worked out three seven hour shifts for the bedroom, which allowed him a little over an hour of wiggle room in between each. If he started taking meals in the Great Hall as well as telling the house-elves to keep delivering to his room, he would probably get enough food. The elves were not skimpy with their portions. He could always stop by the kitchens for extra.
The Time-Turner allowed him to expand each day into three or four. But he had to take care, the more he relived the same hours, the more likely he was to accidentally run into himself. He had found a bedroll and other items for camping stored under the bed and laid it out in the library with some cushions to make a more comfortable place to rest and study.
Thursday morning his textbooks arrived with the owl post.
It was surreal eating breakfast at the high table. There was no strict seating charts, though the heads generally sat by the headmaster, particularly at special occasions. He did his best to act as though he belonged there and ignore the blatant stares, pointing, and quiet exclamations over his appearance. Flitwick and Vector did their best to make him feel comfortable. Sinistra was trying too in her own way, but her presence made him tense and wary.
His morning classes went by very similarly to how they had the day before, only this time most of the students had already heard rumors of his transformation. After he dismissed the third years for lunch, a few tried to linger, but he hurried them along by saying he was going to lunch himself. He stuffed his lesson planner into his satchel and turned around to find his path blocked by a small, dark girl with large eyes and a serious expression. "Are you still going to protect us?" she asked in a surprisingly deep voice.
"Who are you?" Severus asked.
The girl turned and walked away.
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He had the incident driven from his mind by the difficulty of keeping Persephone from tripping over a past or future version of him and discovering the Time-Turner. He decided to try to keep her visit as brief as possible, limit it to an hour and make up for the shortened time with concentrated attention. Which worked fairly well until he had to invent reasons to keep her out of the bathroom.
"It's a mess."
"I could help you clean up."
He appreciated the practicality and kindness of her offer, but what he really needed was to keep her out of the bathroom. "You told me your last cleaning spell broke a mirror."
"Hermione fixed it," she pouted. "Besides, I don't mind a little Muggle style cleaning. It's a nice sized bathroom, but it isn't huge."
He tried to sound casual. "I'd just rather you didn't. It's sort of a private space."
She looked puzzled. "You've always shared a bathroom."
"Exactly, it's a new experience. I like having a little privacy."
Persephone stared at him with a disbelieving expression. "I had my own bathroom at home too. I know it's nice, but I let my friends go pee when they came to visit."
"I don't want you seeing my mess," Severus said stubbornly.
Persephone rolled her eyes but agreed to go down the hall. Severus tried to put the minutes while she was gone to good use by starting on one of his textbooks, but instead he worried about how he was going to keep the Time-Turner a secret for the next three weeks. The sitting room was an awkward place for them to meet. He had managed to squeeze the chess set and a couple tea cups on the small table, but he doubted Persephone would be content doing the same every afternoon.
They finished the game before the hour was up, but Persephone spent the next ten minutes trying to convince him to let her stay longer. "We could spread out on the bed like we did the other day and do our reading," she suggested.
That would certainly be more comfortable, but if things went as planned, there was already another Severus sleeping on the bed. "I think it's better if that stays private space too."
Persephone cocked her head. Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something but could not decide what. Severus gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Easily appeased, she smiled at him. "Okay, can't wait to see you in action."
"In action?"
"I have Potions tomorrow. It's your last class."
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Severus lived through over three days worth of hours before he saw her again in the Potions lab. He had finished the Memoirs by then. Apparently his older self had abandon the project after he had finished recounting the first war. Later entries consisted of notes and lists of names and only occasional snippets of prose like:
Lucius lied. Whether to himself or to me or both of us I can not say. But he is the Dark Lord's man once again. If I did not have my role to play, I might rage at him, but indignation is not a luxury I can afford...
Severus added his own note at the very end.
Mystery of Persephone Potter's kidnapping solved. Narcissa Malfoy guilty. Motive most likely personal.
He decided that once he had found a way to break the enchantment on them he would hand the Memoirs over to Dumbledore. They were essentially a testimony and might prove relevant for the current war.
He was not completely decided what his role in that war might be. Despite the temptation of getting his parents to disown him permanently, his sympathies lay with Harry and Dumbledore. Voldemort had killed too many people he liked, and he was still horrified that he had ever given lip service to the creature. He remembered his promise to protect Harry, but maybe his warning had been enough.
The future had made him an optimist.
He wrote a letter to his parents, explaining his new situation. He had mixed feelings about sending it, but he told Persephone he would. So he did.
He was still having to explain himself to each class and answer the same questions, but otherwise he was settling into the teaching routine. He had no delusions that he was on the same level as Flitwick or McGonagall, but he was starting to feel more comfortable as a Professor than he had as a student. The perks were nice. No curfew. Password access. The school's enchantments amplified the magic of those it recognized as teachers. Flitwick assured him as long as he focused he would have no trouble performing delicate spells, but he should be cautious when attempting to put power behind a spell.
It took a little practice to adjust to the amplification. It made magic easier, but almost too easy. He had experimented with wordless spells before and found he could perform them now with little difficulty. He lost a few hours attempting wandless magic with extremely limited success. Anything more complex than a Summoning Charm seemed to require a wand even with the amplifications.
He discovered when he returned from lunch on Friday that the sixth years had arrived early. Between the four houses, there were about fifteen students, all of whom seemed to be giggling or whispering and watching him curiously. He suspected they had all heard some version of his story already and did not feel like breaking into it again.
Persephone was watching from amongst them. She was grinning as though expecting a great treat. Severus was not sure if it was her presence or the fact less than a week ago he had been a sixth year himself, but he felt his worst attack of nerves yet. He walked to the front of the room, doing his best not to make eye contact with anyone, and flipped open his lesson plan.
"Everlasting Elixirs," he read aloud. "The effects are similar in nature to an Unbreakable Charm, but there's a marked difference in nature and use. You will be brewing an Elixir today and for homework write a five foot essay on the properties of an Everlasting Elixir that make it distinctive from an Unbreakable Charm. Any questions?"
Every student in the room raised their hand high in the air. Persephone seemed to realize she was the odd one out and held her hand up at half mast.
Severus sighed. "Any questions about the assignment?"
All the hands dropped.
"Fine," Severus surrendered. He had hoped to skip this part. "Everyone gets one question. State your name, ask your question, and listen because I'm not going to answer the same question twice. You." He pointed to a Ravenclaw on the front row.
"Arlen Jewkes. What potion were you experimenting with?"
"I don't remember. Next."
"Constance Quirke. Why don't you remember?" And so it went around the room. Persephone gave him a break by claiming someone else had already asked her question. Like the seventh years, the sixth years tried to test him.
"Ginny Weasley. Do you still have your...tattoo?"
He answered, "I have no memory of ever having one," instead of docking points, only because he suspected she was aware of the Dark Mark for some reason, and he would rather not risk the subject coming up.
"Chesann Blampied," was grinning like only a Slytherin girl could. "Where did you have a tattoo?"
"Next Question."
He rolled with the nonsense as best he could, but the last question from a lone student at the back of the room caught him off guard. The blonde girl was wearing what looked to be Dandelion puffs as earrings, so he had not had high expectations. "Luna Lovegood. Why did you want to be seventeen?"
"I don't think it was a planned accident," he misdirected, but he had a feeling, unlike her peers, Ms. Lovegood had done her homework. "I suggest everyone start on their Elixirs. You've already lost ten minutes."
Thankfully the Elixir captured their attention for most of the period. He sat down for a few minutes to collect himself, before he forced himself to make rounds and check the progress of their work. Thankfully Persephone was properly following instructions, so he was able to pass her by with only a nod. He was a little uneasy as he approached the Lovegood girl's desk. Her potion appeared to be further along than many of the others. Before he could retreat, she leaned closer to whisper, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." He was not sure if he should be grateful, impressed, or unnerved, so he settled for some mixture of all three.
He retreated to his office when the bell rang. He was about to spin the Time-Turner when a soft knock stopped him. He tucked the pendant back into his robes and opened the door. Persephone slipped in, closed the door, and threw her arms around his neck. "You are definitely my favorite teacher," she said and stood on her toes to kiss him.
The kiss was nice, very nice, but it also pushed him to make a decision he had been debating in the back of his mind for the past three days. "Persephone, I can't be your boyfriend while I'm your teacher."
She blinked at him, mouth open to argue but at a loss for words. He plunged on before she found them. "It's inappropriate, and I need time to study for the N.E.W.T.s."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes," he said, managing to sound resolved rather than guilty.
"Well...what if we just studied together?" she asked.
"I don't think that's appropriate either. Dumbledore said I needed to conduct myself as a Professor, and if I open myself to study with one student, I'm ethically obliged to offer study help to all of them. And I don't have time to do that."
Persephone's expression had grown gape mouthed.
"It's only for a few weeks," he reasoned. "But I think until that time is up you shouldn't come to my apartment or to my office anymore."
"You're kicking me out?"
"Yes," he said, stepping back over to open the door.
She obvious wanted to say more but had the propriety not to start arguing personal matters with the door open. He did love that about her. Looking both defeated and perplexed she walked out.
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He remembered spending weeks during the summer going into withdrawal over her absence, pining in a properly pitiful way and pretending his misery was proof of his love and devotion. He had even written some horrendous poems about her, which he had had the good sense to burn before anyone was subjected to them.
This time was different. He felt relief to have some space. Maybe it was because this time it was his choice, or perhaps because it made hiding the Time-Turner infinitely simpler. He had learned long ago that Persephone's puzzled looks did not mean she couldn't put the pieces together. Part of it was that even with the Time-Turner, he was scrambling to get all his work done. He had signed up for every advanced class Hogwarts offered, except Divination and Muggle Studies, which meant he had a year's worth of material to cover for ten subjects in a matter of weeks. He thought about Persephone, particularly when he was laying down to sleep, but he did not have the energy left to miss her.
There was something else, much harder to explain than the rest. He needed to not be with her for a little while. He needed to know he could carve out some sense of balance without her around.
He did not think any of this meant he loved her less, but he had little time to ponder that as he squeezed a full weeks worth of free days out of the weekend to grade other students' assignments and read his History of Magic texts.
The days passed more slowly for him than the others at the school, though he pushed himself intensely. He felt a deep inner calm as he fell into a pattern with the Time-Turner. Teach, grade, sleep, read, read more, sleep, practice, research, sleep, teach again. He used lunch time to try to casually ask the other teachers questions since he could not consult them in classrooms.
Persephone shot him funny looks now and then, but she kept her distance, except once to ask for the return of The Dark Creature Rituals. She had found some project of her own to keep her busy. He hoped she was going to be able to test for her N.E.W.T.s as well.
He had never suffered from test anxiety the way some students did. He had always tested well, and the N.E.W.T.s were just a really big test. Dumbledore bought him a little more time by convincing the Wizarding Examination Authorities that his presence when the other seventh year students tested would be disruptive, and his amplified magic would give him an unfair advantage. So they agreed to test him and Persephone separately right after term had ended, and he had been fully dismissed from his position.
He liked his life as a professor more than he had as a student, though he understood he was dodging some aspects of the job since he was following a pre-made lesson plan and not there long enough to need to get to know his pupils. The fifth years gave him more trouble than any other group. They were under O.W.L. stress and all demonstrating it in different ways, some snappish, some hysterical, some passive-aggressive. It was the only group he had to threaten with detentions. Some of the girls seemed to be trying to flirt with him, so he explained to the class multiple times that he had no power to influence their O.W.L. grade.
Grading was the only part of the job he truly detested. He had not left himself any answer keys or instructions and had to appeal to McGonagall for help. Many of the students protested their marks, and he was not confident enough to defend himself, which meant he ended up taking a second look at a lot of essays.
Charles and Millicent Bulstrode, a slender first year and his large seventh year sister, introduced themselves as first cousins. Apparently his mother had a younger brother. His parents had preferred to spend as little time as possible with their families. He had a vague awareness that they both had siblings, but no strong memories of any aunts or uncles, grandparents either for that matter. Sometimes he felt like he had sprung from a void. There were some fuzzy memories of crowded gatherings from his early childhood, but they were very fuzzy.
His parents wrote back. He received one letter from his father.
Dear Severus,
Your mother is most anxious to see you again, so you and Persephone are welcome to visit at your convenience.
Sincerely,
T. H. Snape
It was a warmer reception than he had expected from his father. A few days later a second letter from his mother arrived.
Dearest Severus,
I do hope you are planning to stay with us once the Hogwarts year ends. I'm very glad you have found little Persephone. I liked her, and I was worried she had died. Please write back soon if you plan to come. It's been a few years since I've opened the door to your bedroom, and there's no telling what's crawled in and died there. Might take a few days to make it livable again.
Love,
Mum
The years had brought a sentimental streak to his mother. He let his summer plans simmer in the back of his mind while he devoured his textbooks, practiced Patronus Charms, and tried to conjure tea sets.
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The weeks did not fly by, but just about the time it seemed they would go on forever, it ended. The students finished their exams, and he was assigned his last act as a Hogwarts Professor, helping to chaperone the Leaving Dance. He sent Persephone a note, asking if she would meet him in his office to fit his dress robes an hour before the dance started.
He took a break from his reading to try to remove the enchantments on the Memoirs. After an hour and a half, he was successful and took the entire box up to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore welcomed him inside. "Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said. "Would you like these back after I've finished them? They are your memories after all."
Severus shook his head. "Those belong to someone else," he said. "I'm going to make new memories."
"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I have a gift for you too." The headmaster retrieved a book from the shelf, and Severus was horrified when he saw which one. A Detailed History of the Goblin Wars. "I did say I'd give it back after you returned my book." There was a mischievous twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes. "I'll admit I had forgotten all about it."
Severus decided to accept this as part of his punishment and took the book in hand without a protest. "You seem to be in a good mood."
"Summer break," said Dumbledore with a contented sigh. "If I ever try to take up teaching again, I do hope someone will talk sense into me. This year actually had me considering retirement."
"Do you think you ever will retire?" Severus asked curiously.
"Only if I absolutely must," said Dumbledore. "I tried it for a year once. Terrible experience. Thought the boredom might drive me mad. Have you thought about what you'll do now?"
"I'd like to help the Order fight Voldemort, sir," Severus said. The old Auror dream had been stirring in him again. "I'm just not sure how."
Dumbledore smiled. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Tonight I am going to read and go to bed early, and I believe you have a party to attend."
"Goodnight, sir," Severus said and headed back downstairs. He squeezed the book into one of the few empty slots left on his book shelves and waited until he was sure the bedroom would be empty to get ready.
He used all the bottles Hermione Granger had brought him along with Persephone's expensively wrapped soap alternative to take a long, hot bath, and thoroughly cleanse himself. He had paid as little attention to school gossip as possible, but even he had heard that Draco had managed to negotiate a date to the dance with the Muggle-born prefect. Poor Lucius. The soap alternative took the lingering scent of the Potions lab off him at the very least. If it left his rough bits a little softer, what was the harm?
He unwrapped the shiny shoes and boxed dress robes. They still sagged but not as badly as he recalled the other robes sagging. Maybe he had grown a little while he was busy studying. Just to show he was making an effort, he picked out a pair of cufflinks. They made him think of Lucius too, and he hoped his friend was all right, wherever he might be.
Thus dressed, he went to wait for Persephone in his office.
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He got up to close a cabinet he did not remember opening and did not notice the door open until Persephone was closing it again. He actually forgot to breath for a few seconds. She was already dressed for the dance. She seemed even smaller than before, but that was most likely because her usual puff of purl hair had been flattened down to something sleek and shiny like liquid silver. Her dress robes were simple, soft peach with a full skirt and extremely short sleeves. They had a sort of flower petal like effect, but Severus was more captivated by where the fabric wasn't. The open neckline was not particularly low cut, but it stretched from shoulder to shoulder and showed her collar bone. The bodice hugged her body, revealing its shape rather than hiding it, the way her robes usually did.
"Hi," she said shyly, pulling her silver wand out from a pocket hidden by the folds on the skirt.
"Hi."
"Stand straight and hold your arms out."
"I like your dress," he managed, while doing as told. He felt the robes shrink up slightly as she performed her spell.
"You should," she said with a soft smile. "You picked them out."
"I had good taste," he said, trying to be funny and not quite pulling it off.
"Let me try something." Persephone tweaked some of the accents on his robes to a dark green. "I like that better. What do you think?"
"It's fine," he said, with barely a glance at his own robes. His eyes were busy. "Do you want to get married?"
She stopped and looked up as though not sure she heard him correctly. "Seriously?"
Not the most elegant proposal. "Sure. I was thinking, since we're both done with school...after the test, and we want to stay together. I mean I'd really like us to stay together. We may as well be as together as we can be. I left myself enough money to care of us for a while, and it'll stretch further if we're sharing things...and...if you want me, I...mean if you want to...?"
"Yes!" She tucked her wand away and beamed at him. "Yes! Oh, mon! Of course that's what I want! I want you."
"Okay, good," he said chuckling with relief. "I guess we — I guess we ought to go to the dance."
Neither of them was in a hurry to leave. "We have time," Persephone said and stepped close so she could finger the fabric of his dress robes.
"You look beautiful," he stammered, reaching a hand up to touch her hair.
She smiled up at him and shrugged her smooth, cream shoulders, self-consciously. "Victoria turned me on to something a bit stronger than Sleakeazy's, so I don't look so much like a puffskein tonight."
"You always look beautiful to me," he said, sliding his hands down her back to hold her waist. She blushed shyly and hid her eyes under silver lashes. He wanted to kiss her, so he lifted her chin and did. She kissed him back.
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They sat on his desk and talked. He tried to explain that his proposal had not been quite as hasty as it sounded. He really had been thinking it over for quite a while, and it seemed like the natural thing for them do. He wanted to live with her. She felt like home to him more than his parents house ever had. "They want us to come stay with them, by the way."
"Merveilleux, think they'd help us plan the wedding?" she asked.
Oddly enough, he thought they'd be thrilled with the idea. "How soon do you want to...?"
"Yesterday," Persephone laughed. She circled her arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. "Tomorrow. Next week. Soon as we can. But you'll have to get used to letting me see your messes."
He laughed and kissed her temple. "I promise after we're married I'll be happy to share the bathroom."
She caught his lips and stroked his jaw. "I wish we got to go to our dance," Persephone said. "You look so nice. James taught me how to dance a little. I'm not very good, but I did want to dance with you."
Severus hopped off the desk. Professor Vector had told him about a little trick only the staff could do. He pointed his wand at the ceiling and a moment later they could hear the music from the Great Hall in his office. He offered his hand to her. "Dance with me?"
Smiling brightly, Persephone placed her hand on his and practically bounded to him. He guided her successfully into a slow waltz. Her smile faded as they moved together, but he knew that meant she felt peaceful in his arms. They could be quiet together.
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They danced through three songs together in his office before he remembered that he was expected in the Great Hall. After another very long kiss, they agreed to enter the dance a few minutes apart. He was still technically a Professor until midnight, and it was not the appropriate time to make an announcement.
He went first while she stopped in the bathroom to check her hair.
Severus spotted Harry speaking with McGonagall, Firenze, and a knot of Professors, so he walked their way. It was his hope that chaperoning would mainly entail standing around with a punch cup and chasing people off to the dorms when the dance ended. But he wanted to leave a favorable impression on his last night.
"Good evening, Professors," he said as he joined the group.
"Good evening, Severus," said McGonagall.
Sinistra frowned at him. "Severus, where's Persephone?"
Severus shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her." He was not entirely sure why he lied other than general nervousness.
Sinistra and Kotter exchanged startled looks. "I'll go," Kotter said. Severus belatedly realized they were worried she had vanished again and felt a little guilty. Their unnecessary distress was short lived as Persephone appeared the same moment Professor Kotter reached the door.
Draco and Hermione were continuing their negotiations on the dance floor. Persephone had moved to the refreshment table with her nephew. He joined them by the punch bowl. "Here, drink up," Persephone said, handing him a cup. Their fingers brushed as he took the cup, and they shared a smile.
"Here, eat," Harry said, shooting a glare at him and thrusting a plate at Persephone. Severus realized this was probably the wrong time to bring up their engagement and crept back towards Professor McGonagall, nursing his cup.
The longing for a male confidant was starting to hit him. Harry had been easy to talk to on other subjects, but he was hostile and defensive when it came to Persephone. Severus supposed it was natural that he would harbor some resentment from the ill treatment by his forgotten self. It was one thing to make peace with a former bully, but quite another to welcome them into your family with open arms. One of his big hesitations about Persephone in the past was knowing that to marry her was to make James his brother-in-law. Acceptance from Harry would take time. Severus would need to look elsewhere if he wanted a confidant soon. He wished Lucius was here.
"He's coming!" Persephone's voice broke above the music. Severus looked around to see Harry collapsed against the refreshment table, his face tight with pain.
"Everyone get into your Houses. He's coming!" Hermione called.
Severus exchanged glances with the other teachers and saw they were just as confused as he was as the students began breaking from their partners and forming ranks.
"Clear the stage!" Harry shouted. "Tonks, clear the stage! Get everyone away from the windows!"
The pinked-haired performer hurried her fellow band members off the stage. Severus took the hint and backed away from the stage area. Professor McGonagall had already flown to Potter's side. After a quick conversation with him, she darted out of the Great Hall.
He saw Persephone duck under the refreshment table, while the other students pointed their wands at great window behind the stage.
Potter magically amplified his voice and began commanding the students like a general. "Space out so your wand's not pointed directly at anyone's back." There was an unnatural quiet as the students shuffled to comply. Kotter and Sinistra silently made signs to the staff and the visiting band members to take places along the walls.
Severus's mind whirred to fit the pieces together. The students were clearly prepared for an attack. He had heard something about emergency plans, but this was far beyond normal precautions. They seemed to confidently expect an attack from a certain angle. He remembered that Dumbledore said the scar was a connection between Harry and Voldemort. Notes in his journal said Harry had managed to break into Voldemort's mind last year, but the notes had also said Voldemort had learned to block him out. So Harry had gotten better or...
What was it Potter had said when Severus had explained Persephone's Seer skills to him? That's good I suppose—that she's accurate. He had admired Potter for being so calm. But it struck him now that there had been no surprise in Potter's reaction to the news, only acceptance, possibly reassurance or resignation, but no surprise...because he had already known. Persephone must have had a vision of an attack and instead of warning Dumbledore, Potter had used the students to lay a trap for him. It was an impressive act of stupidity.
Draco and Hermione were obviously deep into this plot, and to some degree so was Persephone.
"Get ready," Harry's voice boomed. Severus already had his wand out. The only thing that kept him from feeling completely betrayed was that the rest of the staff had obviously been kept in the dark too. Was this the little project that had kept Persephone so busy during their separation?
There was no time to grow indignant. The students collectively cast an invisible barrier designed to deflect projectiles only a second before the great windows shattered. Severus fought the instinct to duck, only raising his hand to shield his eyes from broken glass. Thankfully, the barrier held. The students were obviously prepared, so he hung back and did not interfere with the first few volleys of spells as the Death Eaters tried to invade the Great Hall through the shattered windows. Potter counted off four rounds of coordinated spells, before he sounded a command to retreat. The students covered their withdrawal by a mass casting of the Patronus Charm. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time as silvery, luminous animals tore about the room.
While the other students darted around him, Harry Potter stood in the center of the room staring defiantly at the most recent invader. Severus followed his gaze to a man, if you could call it that, with red eyes, a lipless mouth, and slits instead of a proper nose. The snake faced man. Lord Voldemort. Voldemort locked eyes with Harry, but at his first step towards the boy, Moaning Myrtle flew in the Dark Lord's face, shrieking accusations, kicking and punching at him with icy hands.
When Severus looked back around, Potter had vanished. Voldemort hissed a spell at Myrtle, flinging her back across the room. He took another step forward and paused. Severus realized that no one was attempting to directly confront Voldemort. The students were all too busy trying to run from him, and the teachers were pre-occupied by the Death Eaters who seemed to be targeting them specifically. But so far, not him. Severus attempted Legilimency, and to his great surprise the Dark Lord was not Occluding or at least not very well. He got a flash of a daggers behind the Dark Lord's disdainful look and hurried to cast the same shielding spell that the students had used to protect them from the glass shards.
"REICIO!" It worked. The conjured knives bounced off and fell harmlessly to the floor.
To his surprise, Voldemort tried the exact same spell again.
"REICIO!" This time he was a little too slow. Catching most of the knives but not all of them. At first Severus felt like he had been jerked back by a portkey, the room streaking around him, but then he hit the ground. The most horrible, intense pain blossomed through him.
Most of the noise around him fused together unintelligibly, but he heard Draco's voice yell, "Get out of his way!" Sound advice. He probably should have done that. A few moments later Draco's was standing over him, looking around wildly. "Longbottom!" he screamed. "Help him!"
Severus closed his eyes trying to will away the pain. He did not dare move. The whole room seemed to scream as one, or maybe that was in his head. A loss of pressure told him someone had vanished the knife from his gut and sudden tightening told he had been bandaged. His head swam as though life was actively draining out of him...or blood...that was probably blood.
"He's going to need more that I can do," a new voice said. "Give him this. It will help."
The world went dark and silent. "Severus..." Persephone's anxious voice brought him back to the pain. He could not make out the words, it was like listening underwater, but felt her lift his head and press a vial to his lips. He tried to drink. Opening his eyes did not reveal much, just blurry burst of light. He closed them and tried to will his body to heal.
"Lower your wand." Ah, Lucius was here.
"No." Draco's voice.
"We don't have time to play games, Draco." That's right.
"I'm not playing." Lucius is a Death Eater, now.
"This was a trap? You betrayed us." Note to self.
"No, father. You betrayed me." Stop wishing.
Persephone's cool hands tried to sooth his brow while the Malfoys continued their stand off. Whatever was in the vial was helping. The pain was settling into something that felt a little less like imminent death. He tried opening his eyes again, narrowed them to focus. He wanted to see Lucius.
"I don't have time for this—" Lucius had aged well, but he still seemed so old. Impatience was etched into his face. Severus remembered that look.
"Lucius!" Persephone cried and drew his attention towards them. Severus was not sure if that was wise.
"Persephone?" Shock. Lucius looked shocked. Severus wondered if they still meant anything to him.
Draco attempted to stun his father, but Lucius blocked it. Severus caught the flash of Persephone's silver wand as the world swam into darkness again.
Pain pulled him back out again this time. Slowly he realized he was lying on the stone floor. The world was quieter. Whatever had been in the vial was helping, but he was not eager to try standing. Every little noise was now loud and clear. The main battle had moved elsewhere. A click, shoes clicking on the stone, Draco's voice, "Envennerate", someone moved against the floor nearby, fabrics rustling. "Is he conscious?" Draco asked, very close to him.
"Unfortunately," Severus muttered, opening his eyes. He could see. How interesting.
"We have to get him to the hospital wing," said Persephone. They each took one of his arms, placed it around their shoulders and lifted him to stand between them. He questioned the wisdom of standing but was in no shape to argue. He realized he still had his wand in hand and tightened his grip on it. Amazingly his legs held.
"Oh, no," Longbottom moaned
A cold chill crept over his body. Shadowy, cloaked figures were moving in through the broken window. Dementors. It's fairly easy when the jailors have sided with Lord Voldemort.
Severus jerked his wand arm off Draco's shoulders. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He allowed the enchantment to flow with full power and amplification. A silver butterfly with wings the size of elephants chased the dementors back through the window. Severus had hoped the size might obscure the form, but no.
Draco was unable to resist teasing him. "Was that a butterfly?" Severus glared at him, and Draco turned his face away. His anger faded as he realized Persephone was looking up at him as though he had just done something absurdly romantic. Maybe it was a little.
Whatever smoothing potion she had used was already losing it's power over her hair, strands of which were escaping to stand up in odd places.
They ran into Firenze and Sinistra on the way out of the Great Hall. After a brief debate, the two Professors left to try to alert the Ministry. Longbottom and Draco got into another argument over whether they should rush to the hospital wing or stay and help the stunned students. It was cut off when a troop of girls, including the dark little third year, arrived to hold the Great Hall.
Luna Lovegood seemed to have more sway with Longbottom than Draco did. "Neville, why don't you and Lavender help them get to the hospital wing. It looks like Professor Snape has lost a lot of blood."
Severus did his best not to slow them down as he hung between Draco and Persephone. They had not gone very far when Draco ordered them into a classroom to hide from some Death Eaters. They laid him down on one of the tables while Neville and a female student kept guard at the door. Severus was grateful for the rest. Persephone clenched his hand and smoothed the hair back from his face.
"What's that?" Draco asked.
"Time-Turner," Severus explained automatically, realizing the pendant had slipped out of his robes. "McGonagall got it for me, so I'd have time to study for the exams and teach all the classes."
He caught the glint in Draco's eye and covered the little hour glass protectively with his free hand. 'Don't think about it'. Draco walked away to consult with Neville.
Severus turned his attention to Persephone. "You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry," Persephone murmured gently. She sounded genuinely sorry and brought his hand up to press her cheek against it. "Harry had this whole big plan, and it was important the teachers didn't know. I'm such a dolt. I should have told you earlier this evening. Do you forgive me?"
Severus touched her cheek lightly to let her know she was forgiven. He had been the one to kick her out after all, and then distracted her with his sudden proposal. He wanted to survive, so they could properly make it up to each other. "Where's Potter?"
"He was going to try to lure Voldemort to Classroom Eleven," Draco supplied.
"Why Classroom Eleven?" asked the girl by the door.
"He thought the trees would make for good cover."
Severus sat up, inhaling sharply at a fresh burst of pain, which was only outdone by his rising panic. "There are trees in classroom eleven? Why are there trees?"
"Hush, hush," Persephone soothed him. "Lay back down." He would not. "They fixed up that classroom for Firenze. It looks like a lovely bit of forest, nothing sinister. Please lay back down."
"And Potter's there?"
"Hopefully," said Draco, frowning with confusion. Harry must not have told them about the dream. Persephone's puzzled eyes told him she did not remember.
"That idiot," he muttered, letting Persephone ease him back onto the table. What was Potter playing at? Did he want to die?
"It's okay," Persephone tried to reassure him. "He's got a plan."
Severus mind raced. He had to get there, to protect Harry, somehow, but what use was he like this? He could barely stand. He did have his amplified magic. That might give him a chance to be useful if he could get to Harry on time, but how? — oh, right — Time-Turner.
Persephone let go of his hand to talk with the others by the door. Four turns to be on the safe side.
"Oh bloody—" He heard Draco exclaim before he left them three hours away.
oOo
oOo
He regretted that he had failed to keep the Time-Turner a secret, but given the circumstances, thought McGonagall would forgive him. He allowed a few minutes to catch his breath and form a proper plan of action before he tried to move. Luckily, they had chosen to hide in the classroom devoted to Ancient Runes, which meant Nochian's office was next door. He rolled carefully off the table and crawled to a heavily anchored shelf of books that he used to pull himself up to his feet. He leaned against the wall to keep himself upright and peeked out the door to make sure the hall was clear before hobbling the few feet to Nochian's office door.
Nochian never bothered to ward his office, so a simple Alohomora got him inside. He staggered over to the fireplace and used a pinch of floo powder to travel to his own office. He had earned some pocket money last summer (last one he remembered) by helping his mother fill Potions Orders for St. Mungo's and could brew a Blood Renewing Potion in his sleep. Which was helpful since he kept threatening to lose consciousness.
He summoned the tools and ingredients off the shelves and managed to prepare the Potion before he grew too weak. He drank one dose and bottled a few more to carry with him. He knew from his search of the office that there were a few other ready made healing potions and salves that he kept in case of classroom accidents. He used a few of them, keeping one eye on the clock. He had to leave the office before his past self entered to meet Persephone.
He knew he would still need a healer's care to fix all the damage the knife had done, but he managed to repair himself enough to get up to Classroom Eleven. He used the floo again to reduce the number of steps he needed to take and hid in Classroom Twelve which was across and down a bit from Eleven.
He cracked the door so he could sit and watch while he waited for the remaining time to pass without being easily seen. Sleep threatened to take him, but the sound of footfalls on the stone roused him. At first he saw no one, but then he spotted a pair of disembodied feet turn into Classroom Eleven. That's right. James had an invisibility cloak, and he had given it to Harry.
Lord Voldemort followed close behind. Harry had deliberately led him to the scene of Persephone's vision, but why? There were easier ways to kill yourself.
Lord Voldemort walked so swiftly he seemed to be floating. He too turned into Classroom Eleven. Severus was in the process of getting to his feet, when he was stopped cold by the sight of an enormous manticore tearing full speed towards him. The manticore was almost upon him when it suddenly transformed into another Harry.
Voldemort's voice floated out from the classroom. ""I thought you were brave, Potter. Why do you hide from me?"
"Hey, Grandpa, over here!" the false Harry called. Severus felt hope spring up and struggled to his feet. Maybe Persephone had not seen her nephew die at all. Maybe she had seen this copy stop moving. "That's right," the copy continued. "I thought you would have figured it out by now, but maybe I've been giving you too much credit."
"I knew it was possible," Voldemort replied. "Do you think I will show mercy because of it?"
Because of what? Severus felt he had missed something important.
The copy snorted. "No, I'm not the stupid one here. You killed your own father, and then killed your own son. Killing your grandson would be such a little thing for a soulless beast like you."
Yeah, that sounded important.
"Soulless am I? Perhaps. I've grown beyond the need for such things."
The copy was ruthless. "Grown? Hardly. You're pathetic. You're the same bitter little boy you were sixty years ago. You never learn, never grow. You killed your father out of revenge for abandoning you and your mother, and then turn around and do the same to your wife and son. You, Tom Riddle, are just like your father."
Apparently no one liked hearing that.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort screamed.
The green light hit with enough force to splinter the door and shatter the surrounding stone, but it passed through the copy without the slightest hint of harm. It laughed. "Now really, that didn't work the first time. Why did you think it would work now?" The copy pointed its wand at Voldemort. "Like I said, you never learn."
There was a heavy silence. Severus wondered why the copy was just standing there but soon realized there was nothing it could do. Whatever it was, it was insubstantial. A real manticore tearing down the hall like that would have shook the walls. Severus opened the door of Classroom Twelve and started creeping forward slowly. Persephone had said he needed to protect Harry.
"Why don't you strike?" asked Voldemort. "Afraid to destroy the last of your family?"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" That sounded like the real Harry.
A red light shot through the doorway, which made Severus glad he was not there yet. He had never heard of the Killing Curse producing a red light. It was silent again, so he crept forward for a better view.
He was just close enough to see the crumpled figure in black robes and a slim glimpse of Harry through the shattered doorway, when Voldemort lifted his head and stabbed his wand at Harry. He shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA!" in a cold, high voice. The copy shot forward, blurring into shadow and dove into the green light. Both the light and the shadow seemed to pass through Harry who screamed and fell to the ground.
Severus staggered closer. Trying to sort out what had happened. Voldemort laughed, cold and cruel. Severus had a shot at his back so he took it.
"Petrificus To-!" His injury flared suddenly forcing him to catch his breath mid-spell.
Voldemort whirled. "Expelliarmus!"
Severus's wand flew out of his hand and hit the wall behind him. He glanced at it helplessly. Diving for it seemed futile. It was taking all his energy just to stand up.
"Oh dear, Severus," Voldemort chuckled softly. "What have you done to yourself? I heard about your little accident…or was is it an accident? Foolish thing to do, when you must have known I was on to you. Or did you think I might overlook you, if you were no longer a threat to me?"
"I'm a still a threat to you," Severus spat. His hair had fallen in his face, and he tossed his head to shake it back. He was blustering, but as he did it, he caught Harry stirring, just slightly. Maybe that shadow creature had protected him somehow. Persephone had said Harry stopped moving, but she had never said he was dead.
Voldemort laughed again. "Your memory really must be gone as well. Or you would know better than to defy Lord Voldemort, to whom you have sworn your allegiance."
"I never swore allegiance to you," Severus hissed. Maybe he could buy Harry time. "The man who did that is gone, along with the mark that bound him to you, and even then, he was lying when he swore."
Voldemort rolled his shoulders. "But as you said, that liar is gone. I am in a good mood at the moment, Severus. You are young and hot headed, once again. But I will give you one last chance to redeem yourself. Swear your loyalty to me, return to your friends. Now that the boy's threat has passed, I may even be willing to spare the Potter girl." Severus twitched, and Voldemort smiled over his small victory. "Yes, I know she lives. Narcissa was foolish to think that she could hide her from me. Beg me for her life, Severus. Grovel on hands and knees, and I may consider sparing it."
Severus swallowed. He could pretend to play along. He might live longer that way. But wasn't that what caused all the trouble in the first place? Wasn't playing that game why he had come to hate himself so much? "No," he said.
"Perhaps I was mistaken, Severus," said Voldemort. "I was under the impression that you loved the girl."
"That's why I won't grovel," Severus said slowly, as though explaining something important. "Because I love her."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," said Voldemort, his smile fading. "Do you want her dead?"
Severus smiled. Voldemort really did not get it. Not one bit. "You're pathetic. You don't have the vaguest inkling of how love works, do you? That's why you're pathetic. That's why I know Potter will kill you in the end." If he ever gets off the ground.
Perhaps it was better that Potter stayed still, as his words had made the Dark Lord nervous enough to glance over his shoulder. "Potter is dead, as you soon will be. But first I will hear you beg for mercy. CRUCIO!"
Severus screamed, his body twisting with pain. Another knife to the gut would have been kinder. He had read an account of this by his older self. Voldemort had become displeased over something he had failed to do and Cruciated him as punishment. It had sounded terrible, but the description had fallen short. He tried to tell himself that it was only pain, but there was nowhere to escape from it.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. Severus fell to the ground, every nerve ending screaming in protest. Harry and Voldemort were shouting spells at each other. Severus forced his eyes open to see them engulfed in a bizarre web of gold, followed by a brilliant swirl of green and red. And then suddenly the light was gone and Voldemort was a charred mass on the ground.
Severus used a large chunk of stone rubble to pull himself up to his knees. "What was that?" he asked hoarsely.
"Priori Incantatum," Harry said.
"Oh," said Severus. The Reverse Spell Effect. He had read about it, but he had never seen it in action before.
"Do you need help?" asked Harry.
"No, I think I've—" His hands slipped on the rocks, and he fell face forward on the ground. Now he was embarrassed as well as in pain. His nose hurt too.
A girl screamed. Severus wanted to look, but he did not dare move.
"Harry?" He knew that voice.
"Persephone?" Yes. Hers.
"Severus!" He heard the crunch of stones and felt her hands on his neck.
"Ouch," he creaked, mainly to let her know he was alive. She gently helped him turn over onto his back, which was a slight improvement. Everything still hurt.
"Is that Voldemort?" Persephone asked breathily. "Is he?"
"Yeah, he's dead," said Harry.
"Where's Kagome?" asked Persephone.
"I don't know," said Harry. "I thought she was posing as Snape, but if this is the real Snape…"
Apparently, the creature had a name. Severus coughed. "That thing that looked like Harry?" he said with effort. "It jumped into the green light. I've never seen anything move so fast, then it was gone."
"She rode his death?" Persephone said softly. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"I'm fine. You take care of him. I have to…"
Severus missed what Harry had to do as the blissful darkness took him again.
oOo
oOo
He had the strangest dream. He had been dropped twenty-years in the future. There had been a Younging Potion, an invisibility cloak, a Time-Turner, a manticore, a bowl full of memories, a snake faced tyrant, a dance, a battle, Lucius and James both had sons who looked like imperfect copies of them, he had been a professor and a spy, Persephone had agreed to marry him, and he was going to have to take his N.E.W.T.s tomorrow.
Severus slowly blinked his eyes open. Oh right, those weren't dreams. Those were memories, and that was his life now. Assuming he was still alive. As the memories sorted themselves into sequence, he became skeptical.
With a little effort, he lifted his head and found that he was in the hospital wing. The tormenting pain seemed to have been replaced by an all over ache and general weariness. He placed a hand on his chest and felt the lump of the Time-Turner under his robes. That was good. Persephone's fluffy head was laid on the bed above his shoulder. She seemed to be asleep in that awkward position, so he went back to sleep too.
When he woke again, he found Persephone slumped back in a chair beside the bed. She leaned forward when she saw his eyes were opened. "You're going to be okay," she assured him. "You just need to rest."
He responded with "Hmph", too tired to ask questions.
Persephone kissed his cheek. "I told you you were a butterfly."
"Hmph," he repeated, hoping no one had heard her.
There were lots of other people around, coming in and out. Slowly he pieced together that Voldemort was indeed dead and most of the Death Eaters had been captured. He listened to the Aurors question Draco, apparently Lucius had gotten away, and it took half an hour before they were satisfied that Draco did not know where he had gone.
The dark little girl stopped by and squeezed next to Persephone on her chair. Persephone wrapped an arm around her, and the girl leaned into her in a way that told Severus they had grown very close. She turned her dark eyes on him and said, "I protected myself," in a way that was almost accusatory.
Draco appeared at the bedside. "Come along, Victoria, let Severus sleep." He held his hand out for her, and after a moment's consideration, she stood and took it. "That's my girl," Draco said, giving her a kind smile. His grey eyes had a tired look to them. "I'll come back and see how you're doing later. Take care of each other, okay?"
"Thank you, Draco," Persephone said. Severus managed a tired smile for him.
A few minutes later, the round faced boy Neville Longbottom appeared and dropped into the chair beside them. "Let's never do anything like this ever again, okay?"
"Okay," Persephone agreed.
Neville looked down at their clasped hands. "Is there something going on between you two?" he asked in a low voice.
Severus decided to take the chance to tell someone. "We're getting married."
Neville's eyes went wide. "Since when?"
"Since yesterday," Persephone grinned.
"I'm so glad I'm going to America," Neville said shaking his head.
Persephone kissed the boy's round cheek. "You're going to have a wonderful time, Neville."
He blushed and mumbled something that sounded like "good luck to you", before walking off again.
"Don't kiss other boys in front of me," Severus said with mock-irritation.
"Don't be jealous, Severus. My love for Neville is only a candle's flicker beside my roaring flame for you," she teased.
He laughed which made his wound hurt. "Ow."
McGonagall stopped by to check on him and reclaim the Time-Turner. He was sad to see it go but relieved to hear that the Examination Authority had agreed to delay his testing until after he had made a full recovery.
"So what do you want to do when we get out of here?" he asked, since they needed to have that discussion.
"Mm, I don't know," Persephone said, looking thoughtful. "But I'm not worried about it."
"Why's that?
"Because," she said, wrapping her hands tightly around his. "We have time."
oOo
FIN
Author's note: There's a lot of places I could have ended this story, but I decided that I liked the idea of Snape's level getting an expanded ending in The Last Train Ride which also ends the Harry and Draco levels.
I'm taking a break from fanfic for a while to work on sellable/original projects. When I come back, I will be filling in that missing 6th year. Some day off in the distant future there will be an Auror training trilogy too, but that one might be another decade (sorry!).
I'm always happy to be told about grammatical errors that leak through so I can fix them. Much thanks to everyone who took the time to review. I love getting feedback.
On ethics: I played with a lot more moral grey in this than I normally like to in my stories. This is not intended to show in any way support for teen/teacher romances...true love is patient and can wait for graduation. This is a peculiar circumstance that would only pop up in Time-Travel/magic stories. The Younging Potion was originally devised as a way to give Snape a second chance (something he did need), but I'm not claiming it was a best way. I hope I conveyed to some degree that he lost some important things by taking it.