"It would seem that no introductions are needed," commented Dumbledore, trying to ease some of the tension. He stepped in front of Snape, who had drawn his own wand upon seeing James. "Wands away please," he said. It didn't really sound like a command, but it sounded like one. Harry, James and Snape put away their wands. Dumbledore directed Snape to a chair on the far side of the room, as James and Lily both resumed sitting.
"What's he doing here?" demanded James, staring at Snape with the utmost discontent. The look was shared from Snape as well.
Harry looked at the man and noted that this Snape was not the one that he had attacked just a day before and so many years in the future. This Snape was much younger, and by Harry's calculations, he was 21 years old, just like his parents. This Severus looked so much younger. But there was something else. His face and eyes appeared not to have taken on as much grief as his elder self. There was still something warm in this Snape's eyes. It was a look that Harry could not identify, but he was sure that it was not always there.
"Headmaster, I too am wondering why you wanted my presence here, considering the company," he said, nodding at James.
"Enough," said Dumbledore, holding up a hand to silence the pair. "Severus, I have asked you to come here so that you might inform Lily and James of certain things."
"I told you I would not," said Severus, never taking his eyes off of James.
"Severus," began Dumbledore, trying to reason with the man, "You need not tell of your motives. Just inform them of what you have learned. They have a right to know."
Snape looked as though he would not open his mouth for a day or two. He appeared to be very uncomfortable with whatever it is he had to say.
"Sev?" Lily prodded.
"The reason," he began slowly, and after hearing Lily speak, "that you have been forced to go into hiding is because of a prophecy."
"We know that much," said James loudly.
"I could fit what you know on the inside of my boot, Potter," said Snape. "What you don't know is the reason why The Dark Lord knows about this. You see, I am the one who overheard the prophecy when it was being told to Headmaster Dumbledore. I did not hear the entire thing. I did hear enough to make the Dark Lord come after you."
"You son of a " James yelled, and the rest of his sentence was lost to the wind as he lunged himself across the room.
"Impedimenta," cried Lily, stopping James midair. He floated there briefly before she ended the spell and he dropped with a loud thud to the floor. "James!" she yelled at him. "Sit down and listen! If he was a danger to us, he would not have been brought here."
"Ha," smirked Snape, looking down at James as he got off the floor.
"And you," she rounded on Snape, putting down Harry and stretching her finger out for good measure, "If you keep making snide comments, I'll be forced to hex you too." She sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd think this was the first day of school on the Hogwarts express." With that, she grabbed up baby Harry and slammed herself back down into the chair.
Harry smirked but tried to cover it. He swore he heard Professor Dumbledore laugh and try to cover it with a cough. However when he looked at the man, there was no trace of a smile on his face.
"Lily is right in her assumption," said Dumbledore. "Severus has been working very closely with me over the past few months. Despite old vendettas, we are all working towards the same thing, and that is to bring down Voldemort."
Harry registered the shake that went through Snape when Dumbledore said the name.
"Harry, I need to speak to you outside, if you'd please," said Dumbledore. Harry nodded and the two left the room and walked a little down the hall.
"Do you think it's safe to leave them in there alone?" asked Harry once they were down the hall way.
"Safe for whom?" Dumbledore asked.
"My dad…well James and Snape. They're going to go at it again."
"I believe that they are safe from one another. Whether or not they are safe from Lily is another matter entirely," said Dumbledore. Harry smiled, and enjoyed being reunited with the Headmaster. "Harry, I do not know whether or not this point has crossed your mind yet, but it is one of the most crucial points of you coming back."
"Based upon what you have told me, and upon what I already know, I have deduced that unless you can be stopped from ever traveling back here, you have utterly changed the future. You see, the scar on your forehead was given to you as a result of Voldemort's curse backfiring. Now that events have been set in motion, you will not get that scar. Effectively, you will not be "marked as his equal", and the means to his downfall will not be created."
Harry's heart dropped in his chest. He had not counted on any of this. He knew that saving his parents was selfish, but he had not considered what it would do in the long run. "How can I fix this?"
"I am afraid that I do not see anyway that this can be remedied," said Dumbledore. "Fate has dealt us a cruel hand, and one that we will be forced to play."
"Will my scar disappear?" Harry asked.
"To this, I am not sure," said Dumbledore. "Whether or not it vanishes is immaterial, as I believe that its magical properties will not have carried back to this time."
"What can we do?" asked Harry, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
"You come from a time where Voldemort lost all his power and then rose once more. Now that you have changed time, you must realize that our Voldemort will never lose his power. He will continue to grow strong, and then the methods that should lead to his destruction will most likely never be created."
Harry stood there in shock. A cold shudder went through him as he took in what he was hearing. "So sir," he began slowly, "what you're trying to tell me is that by coming back here to stop Voldemort, I may have just stopped us from ever being able to do so?"
"Yes," said Dumbledore gravely.
Harry thought for a moment. There was something he was missing, and he was so upset at himself for not remembering it earlier. There was one crucial piece of the puzzle that he had not informed Dumbledore of. "He's not whole," he blurted out abruptly.
"Excuse me?" said Dumbledore, his tone very confused now.
"His soul," began Harry quickly, "it's not whole anymore. He created Horcruxes."
"Are you sure Harry?" asked Dumbledore, and the fire in his eyes returned. "How do you know this?"
"You told me sir," said Harry slowly.
Dumbledore pursed his lips together for a moment. His brow furrowed. "Do you know what the Horcrux is?"
"Sir," began Harry, "that's the problem. He created more than one. He believes that seven is the most powerful magical number."
"So he created seven?" asked Dumbledore, now hanging on to Harry's every word.
"No," Harry said. "As far as I know, at this point in time, he should only have the diary, the locket, and the cup, and the ring."
"You must tell me the full story," began Dumbledore, "but not now. There is too much going on right now. Let us return to the bedroom." Dumbledore paused, and Harry could tell that his mind was racing. "Harry, you will be staying here tonight. As will your parents. Young Mr. Black will be returning home later and I believe that he will be quite happy to have some company."
Harry's heart jumped at the prospect of seeing Sirius again. He knew that this younger version would not know who he was, but Harry had always wanted to see Sirius in his prime, before Azkaban had a chance to ravish him.
"Where are you going to go?" Harry asked.
"First I must return to the school, and take Severus back with me," said Dumbledore. "Then there are certain people who must be alerted. You will be safe here Harry, as will your parents. I know that this goes without saying, but please be careful. Your parents will have many questions about the future, and you must not tell them. Changing the timeline anymore then you have already done could have dire consequences."
Harry pushed the door open to the bedroom and was met with a sight that was forever imprinted in his mind. Baby Harry was sitting on a chair, laughing while James was nursing what appeared to be a broken nose. Snape was caught in a full body bind and was now suspended to the ceiling, while Lily had her wand pointing at him.
"I told you no more snide remarks," she said, talking to Snape. She then rounded on James. "And you, James Potter, if you ever get the nerve to tell me to shut up my damned anything again, my fist will find more than just your nose."
"I thought they'd be safe," muttered Dumbledore out the corner of his mouth.