Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making any money. Blah blah blah.

Severus awoke, disoriented. He looked around, and discovered he was in the Hospital Wing. Slowly, he remembered what had happened. Hermione. The last thing he remembered was the look of sheer terror on her face. He leapt up, but instantly fell back down again, feeling dizzy. He tried again, slower. He changed, and as he left the hospital, he wondered just how long he had been out. He made his way through the castle, noting just how quiet it was.

"Stop right there," came a voice to his left.

He stopped and looked, and a figure emerged from the shadows, a wand pointed directly at his face.

"Potter? What the hell are you doing? Where's – "

"Shut it, Snape. How many times have I told you? Stay away from her. She's mine."

Something wasn't right. Potter didn't talk to him if he could help it. And Hermione had told him that Potter and Weasley had accepted their relationship. What happened to Potter's 'thing' with the Weasley girl?

"What?"

Potter's wand got closer to Severus's face, causing the latter to have to lean back. "Stay away from Lily," he growled, deadly serious. Deadly being the operative word.

"Lily? I – what?" Okay, what the hell was going on?

"You heard me, Snape. Go near her again, and I won't let you off so lightly."

Potter left, leaving Severus completely bewildered. Potter seemed more... aggressive, and, who the hell was Lily?

Deciding Potter must be under the influence of some sort of spell, or potion, he disregarded it from his mind, and continued up to the Gryffindor common room in search of Hermione.

Before he got much further, he was accosted by a rather large man, who clapped him on the shoulder and said "Severus, my boy, good to see you up and about. How are you feeling?"

Who was this guy? And how'd he know Severus? This was really weird.

However, he looked like a teacher, so he thought he'd better answer. "Erm, good, thanks. Sorry, what day is it?"

The man started looking a little concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? Did Madam Pomfrey discharge you?"

Thank the gods, a name he knew. "No, no she didn't. I just don't know how long I was out for."

"Oh, well..." the man appeared to think for a minute, then said "It's Thursday. You've been out for about three days, I think."

"Right," said Severus distractedly. "Sorry, there's someone I've got to find." Without waiting for a reply, he ran off up the next flight of stairs, wanting to find Hermione and restore some normality.

As he got closer to Gryffindor Tower, more people started appearing, and Severus stopped. He was surrounded by Gryffindors, none of which he recognised. That was odd, considering he knew at least half of the Gryffindors, at least by sight, and quite a few of these looked about the same age as him.

He spun on his heel, and went back down to the Entrance Hall, and, on a spur of the moment decision, he decided to enter the Great Hall. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe he just needed to eat.

Severus sat down at the far end of the Slytherin table, and grabbed a slice of toast off the pile in front of him. Someone sitting here before him had left a copy of the Daily Prophet, and, for want of anything else to do, he grabbed it and started reading.

He glanced at the date on it, confirming that it was indeed Thursday. Satisfied, he looked at the headline. Hold on. Thursday. Correct. November. Also correct. 18th? Not quite. It should be the 21st. That wasn't all that was wrong. The year. 1976. What. The. Hell?

His first thought that this was an old paper, something someone was reading just for the sake of it, or maybe something for History of Magic. But before he could remotely consider that idea, he noticed the colour of the paper. It looked in perfect condition, like it was only a day or so old. Not twenty years old.

He threw the paper down and left the Hall, stalking out onto the grounds. He had some thinking to do.

What had happened that day? The slight run-in with Draco. That had nothing to do with it, he knew. Draco was his best friend, and Hermione certainly wouldn't do this to him.

Charms class. Repairing Time Turners. That went off without a hitch. Then – oh. That must be it. When he tampered with the Time Turner for Hermione to fix, that must have done it. That was the only logical explanation. He'd gone back in time. To, clearly, 1976. So, that would mean... Potter's parents. They would be sixth years now. Potter. That was who threatened him! Harry Potter's father. What was it? Jim, no, James! So, that meant that Lily must be Potter's mother. Of course she was. Everyone knew that.

So, where was Hermione? If Potter's parents are here, that would obviously mean that Harry Potter was not born yet. He racked his brains. Hermione was born... 1979. She was negative three. He sat down. It was too much to comprehend.

He'd gone back in time, to 1976. He got that much. The part that was difficult for him was the thought that the girl he loved had gone from sixteen to negative three in the space of three days. Hermione. He had to find a way back. He didn't want to stay here. He didn't belong here. But how the hell could he get back? He didn't have the Time Turner. God knows where it was. God knows when it was.

A thought struck him. Dumbledore. Dumbledore could fix anything. He wasn't the greatest wizard of the age for nothing.

He traipsed up to the Headmaster's office, and knocked. The door swung open, and finally Severus saw a face he knew, not one he thought he knew.

"Ah, Mr. Snape! To what do I owe this pleasure?" said the old man's voice. He looked the same as Severus knew him, and sounded the same too. So much for time can do a lot to a person.

"Sorry, sir. I need to talk to you." Severus was stalling, he had no idea how to approach this.

Dumbledore smiled. "By all means, talk. Take a seat."

Severus sat, and spoke. "Sir, you know how meddling with time can bring about consequences?" Dumbledore nodded. "Well, I'm not, that is, I'm not the Severus Snape that goes here. I mean, I do, but not until 1991. I haven't been born yet."

Dumbledore cocked his head to one side. "You're saying you've used a Time Turner to accidentally travel back in time?"

"Yes, sir. I was born January 9, 1980. I started my first year at Hogwarts on September 1, 1991. I think, I'm just guessing, that maybe I've taken the place of someone else here, that's why everyone knows who I am."

"On the contrary, I think differently."

"Sir?"

"I believe that, in coming to this time, you have inadvertently changed the course of time. Had you not come, no one here would know a Severus Snape, not until, as you say, 1991. Things have been altered. What was the date you left your own time?"

"Erm, November 18th, 1996. My sixth year."

Dumbledore nodded. "I am under the impression that, if we looked at your file, your year of birth would read 1960. A whole new timeline has been created."

Severus was stunned. However, he still had one question. One there was only one right answer for. "Will I be able to go back?"

Looking apologetic, Dumbledore said "I don't think so. As far as I know, there are not means to be able to return you to your own time. It's not often that a whole new timeline is created when someone time travels."

Severus had been bracing himself to hear it, but it was a blow nonetheless. "I've lost her," he said to himself. To Dumbledore he said "Right. Thank you, sir."

He stood up and walked to the door.

"Severus?" called Dumbledore. Severus stopped at the door and looked back. "Good luck."

The young Slytherin nodded. "Thank you."

A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed, and those who added this to your favourites. Sorry that this chapter's short, this is just Severus coming to grips with the fact that he's travelled back in time, and he learns he can't go back. Forward. You know. We won't be hearing from Hermione for a while. There's a reason for that. All will (hopefully) be clear later. Thanks for reading!