This is a long chapter, or it wouldn't have taken so long. It covers a lot, too. I feel pretty miserable too, the overall mood of this chapter is not happy. This is why I felt I needed a break and wrote the previous chapter how I did. Even though the beginning starts out pretty light…Well, you have been warned. It might not be as bad as I'm making it out to be but, hey, I'm the one who's writing this, so I have to put myself in the middle of all these emotions. Actually, when I went back through it, it wasn't so bad. I'm just tired.
But I did have fun and I hope you all enjoy it. An update is an update, after all.
And there's a…thing…at the end. A short, mostly unrelated story. That's iffy. But it popped into my head somewhere near one in the morning and I spent maybe half an hour on it. It had to go somewhere so…
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
:Mindspeech:
-Parseltongue-
Chapter Seventeen: Halloween Departure
"And so then Sirius's mum started screeching at us so he told her to…" James told the group in front of him to varying degrees of laughter. Sirius, never growing tired of this particular story laughed the loudest, though Evan was a close second. Remus and Severus were laughing politely, Remus having heard this story several times before and Severus still waiting for someone to yell at him for it. Or, alternatively, inform him that he was dreaming. He hoped someone would wake him up soon.
The two groups had spent all night pranking each other until they eventually ran out of ideas and fell asleep from either boredom or magical exhaustion. In the morning they had woken up, both sides clearly expecting to pick up from the point they had fallen asleep at. However, taking a good look at themselves and then each other and remembering the steadily worsening stream of pranks that they had to resort to as ideas ran low, they simply burst out laughing. Nobody was quite sure who started it but Severus believed wholeheartedly that it was Evan that had been the first to laugh and so causing what little restraint the others had had over their laughter to break.
And then they had sat down together to eat breakfast. James and Sirius had started swapping stories with Evan (the Gryffindors at least possessing enough tact to leave out the stories that included Severus) and Remus sat off to the side listening to it all calmly. Severus felt disorientated, as if he had just stepped into the Gryffindor common room when expecting to find the Slytherin one. Then again, having lived in the same school as the Marauders for over five years, such a thing wouldn't confuse him as badly as this. He had never seen Evan acting so Gryffindor (not that it was a bad thing at this level of Gryffindorness, just…different) and he had never seen the Marauders acting so…Well, human. No bullying, no pranking, no outrageous Gryffindor heroics. They were just…chatting.
He really hoped that he would wake up soon.
Remus looked like he was about to try and say something to Severus several times but hesitated or was cut off by one of the others saying something to him. And Severus made sure to show that he was not interested in discussion with the werewolf. James, Sirius, and Evan chatted on.
Then everyone was finished with their breakfast, the house-elves came and brought it away, and everyone got up, clearly intending to head back to their own sides of the room to resume the prank war. Evan stretched and walked out of the room, a door materializing in the stone, the fact that he was still cheerfully sporting gold eyes, red-streaked-gold hair, and Gryffindor robes with three paw prints plus a hoof print and 'I love the Marauders' on the back, not to mention the black lion's mane and antlers not seeming to phase him.
The Marauders stared after him with a blend of shock and annoyance on their faces. Severus blinked, shrugged, and followed his friend out of the room, similarly clothed though with dog ears instead of the antlers and no mane. The Marauders continued staring, opened-mouthed, for a good minute and then ran towards the door and exited after the Slytherins.
The Slytherins were gone. The Gryffindors looked at each other, decided that it was pointless to ask, and headed off to find Lily and tell her of their 'escape', Evan's permanent-marker doodling on their faces (he had done them by hand once all the Marauders had fallen asleep) as well as various other Slytherin-related cloths and hair/eye/skin colors were simply ignored (or, more likely, forgotten).
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Well?" Severus asked once his friend exited the Headmaster's office.
"I told him I was back, told him what I told you what I'd been doing, told him I'd been delayed by Lily, apologized, and he told me I could 'run off and join my friend,'" Evan looked annoyed, "I've got to find whatever charm he's using to see who's waiting outside his office and destroy it."
"That's it?" Severus asked, "You just told him that it was a 'family emergency'?"
"Well, no, I might have embellished my story a little bit," Evan hedged, "Actually, I was very upset to 'discover' that I'm a parseltongue so I went to visit my remaining relatives to learn the details of my family's past. Those who I found were just as shocked as I was so once I graduate I'll set off to find what remains of the other half of my family on some big and noble Gryffindor quest-type-thing."
"Once you graduate?" Severus asked, "I thought you were leaving in a month?"
"Oh, I am, but if I said that he would think he didn't have much time to convince me otherwise. He would want me where he could see me, you see, since I'm a parselmouth and all and possibly a valuable weapon against Voldemort. He wouldn't be able to stop me (even I won't be able to prevent my departure) but he could hinder my plans for the next month."
"Where are you going?" Severus asked, seeing an opportunity to inquire about something that his friend had been less than forthcoming about.
"Even I'm not sure about that," Evan said evasively, "All I know is that it might take a very, very long time to come back here. But I'll eventually be able to see you again."
"And will I be able to see you?" Severus asked.
Evan hesitated,
"If you want to I think that you might be able to, eventually."
Severus raised an eyebrow at his friend. What was that supposed to mean?
His friend refused to answer any questions after that.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Time flew by all too quickly after that. Evan seemed to be always busy doing things that usually didn't involve schoolwork and often didn't involve Severus. For one thing, Severus had seen Evan talk to several people (mostly Slytherins) that he was sure were Death Eaters. Not anyone as obvious as Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black but the quieter ones and even Crabbe and Goyle. Sometimes he came back looking upset or angry and other times he was practically glowing. Severus had yet to have an opportunity to spy on one of these meetings. Most of the time when he wasn't doing that the Slytherin-Gryffindor was in the library reading ancient-looking books (some of which had to have come from the restricted section of the library, if only for their rarity) with titles that were always conveniently covered by Evan's hand.
Evan had also taken it upon himself to teach Severus several things which Severus was not sure he even wanted to know how his friend knew. Occlumency, for one, as well as very, very good acting practice for both Voldemort and Dumbledore (how Evan had known about the whole double-crossing mess he had gotten himself into, Severus didn't know as he hadn't told his friend), and even how to temporarily block the pain in his dark mark as well as some handy-spells, such as one used for group-apparition. Basic fighting skills were also covered and also (once Severus had revealed that he could understand parseltongue, much to Evan's surprise and delight) the basics of parseltongue magics with practice speaking it.
And still the days continued to fly by.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Severus watched his friend leave the room silently yet again, an action that had become disturbingly familiar over the past couple of weeks. He could feel Hogwarts tremble with worry and a small, black shape leapt up besides him on the bed and curled up, giving off such a strong nervous tension that it made Severus himself edgy.
Finally deciding that he couldn't just do nothing, he left the room silently after Evan. Hogwarts and Evan's cat guided him into a small room between the second and third-year dormitories that must have, at one point, been a passageway. His friend had cleaned it up, however, so that it was just an empty room filled with some random odds and ends. A cauldron, some potions ingredients, and a handful of small things that Severus couldn't identify sat in the room, as well as Evan, who was sitting in the middle of all the random items.
"Serphenia doesn't like that, you know…" Severus stated uncertainly as his friend cut himself with a dagger that Severus had never seen before. Evan looked up at him with blank eyes, unmindful to the blood dripping down his arm and onto the stone floor. Severus flinched. He had no experience dealing with this kind of thing; what could he do?
"Sev?" Evan asked blinking, "Oh." Severus's words finally seemed to sink in. "You've been talking to her, then."
"I don't like it either," Severus offered, not really sure what to say.
Evan didn't say anything. Severus felt like screaming in frustration. Why did he have to deal with this? Why not some Gryffindor with their heroic and inspiring words? Well, he was Evan's friend so he would just have to do it himself. He wouldn't leave his friend to work things out himself.
"They're all gone, you know," Evan said serenely, "All my friends and family I've talked about. They've betrayed me or I've betrayed them. Or they're dead," he added as an afterthought, "Or both, I suppose. Now has that ever happened, I wonder. Have I killed a betrayer? The rat deserved to die but no, I didn't kill him; I didn't even let him be killed. He's still out there, though I should have killed the traitor when I had the chance. And then that time I deserved to be banished and I never saw them again, so no, as far as I know I didn't kill them. My parents were killed protecting me. Oh, no, I did kill my father, didn't I. But then he never loved me, he loved my mother and he killed her. It wasn't as if mother paid attention to me, I got more attention out of her old portrait than her and it was an accident that my father died. He would have killed me anyways…"
Severus's breath had caught in his throat during his friend's calm statements. Merlin, no wonder Evan was a little messed up. What would he have been able to do in his friend's place? Nothing at all, he probably would have allowed himself to be killed ages ago.
Gathering his courage he told his friend hesitantly,
"I won't abandon you or betray you."
Evan looked at him, really at him, for the first time in this conversation,
"Don't make promises you can't keep," he told his friend simply. And, standing, walked past his friend out of the room after dabbing some potion from the cauldron on his wound, causing them to seal and disappear as if they had never been there. The cat, Serphenia or, as he was calling her, Bast, followed behind him.
Severus frowned and turned to look after his friend,
"I won't! I mean it!"
And then he saw the two long daggers that his friend had left by his feet.
What did it mean, Severus wondered as he got back into bed after hesitantly claiming the daggers and stashing him in the hidden compartment of his own trunk (for what good Slytherin with money didn't have at least one?). Did his friend trust him? Was Evan merely testing him in some way? It was all very confusing and he was not yet ready to untangle the web of half-truths that was his only friend.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"May I speak to you for a moment?"
The four Marauders looked up at Evan, three of them still wearing the permanent marker doodles on their faces.
"Uh, only Remus and Si-Black," Evan said, rethinking his earlier sentence.
"Why?" Pettegrew asked distrustfully.
Evan smiled at him cheerfully but there was something…off about that smile,
"Don't worry; you'll get them back in one piece…At least, I'm pretty sure. I only need those two and it won't take too long…" He looked towards James expectantly. James shrugged and glanced at Remus and Sirius, who also shrugged.
"Okay," he finally decided and before he could blink the Slytherin had dragged his friends down the corridor and out of site. He looked bemusedly after them before shrugging and turning to Peter who looked completely lost. Taking pity on his friend, who had missed the pranksters' last confrontation, James started explaining to his friend.
Down the hall and nearly out of earshot Evan finally slowed down.
"Uh, Evan?" Remus asked, not quite used to being dragged around in such a manner, "Is there something you wanted to talk to us about?"
The Slytherin-Gryffindor turned to face the two Marauders, emerald eyes sparkling with mischief, and made a shushing motion. The perplexed Marauders looked at him and then each other, wondering why they had agreed to come with the strange prankster as Evan touched the wall yet again. A hissed code later and there was a passageway where both Marauders were positive there hadn't been one before. They blinked and before they even had a chance to look at each other again they were pushed through.
"Hey!" Sirius protested as he stumbled, almost crashing into Severus, who had been waiting for Evan.
"Did you have to bring them?" Was the Slytherin's only comment.
"'Course I did," Evan said, smiling cheerfully, which the Marauders decided he'd been doing way too much today. Smiling even wider, he dumped several scrolls on the desk in the middle of the room. Speaking of which…
"Where are we?" Sirius asked, annoyed that a 'first year' had found so many passages that the Marauders knew nothing about.
"It's a secret," Harry said absent-mindedly as he poked through the scrolls, making sure that everything was there, "But, if you must know, all sorts of passageways open up to you at Hogwarts if you're a parselmouth."
Remus was the first to make the connection, having already made it previously,
"Salazar Slytherin."
Evan grinned at him, though there was a slightly odd light in his eyes,
"Bingo. Salazar Slytherin was also a parselmouth and so made all sorts of handy shortcuts. Well anyways," He continued, before Sirius could say anything along the lines of 'Slytherins are evil', "Me and Sev need your help on a school-wide prank."
"Why us?" Sirius asked at the same time as Remus said, "When?"
"To answer Black's question first, I don't want to work with Pettegrew. I'm really sorry, I know he's your friend and all and I'm really trying to get to know him," a lie, "But I don't think I could stand working with him for very long. And I can't invite James, since this prank partially involves him. But not in a bad way," he said hastily at the looks on the Marauder's faces, "I'm pretty sure that he'll appreciate it once it's all over and done.
"As for Remus's question…It needs to be set up and prepared to be set off by Halloween. Yes, I know that it's in five days, which is a really short amount of preparation time for a school-wide prank on the scale that I want it but Halloween is Halloween, and, since I'll probably be gone before then, probably more like within the next couple days so it might be impossible…or it might not be.
"The prank is this: a school-wide Halloween prank lasting all day with a Halloween ball until midnight (for the older years, the younger students will have to go to sleep by then) to finish it off at which point all the spells and disguises will be taken away. The objective is: set up James and Lily to go together for the Halloween ball without making it too obvious and without letting Lily think that James set it up that way."
"Why?" Remus asked surprised, while Sirius was too shocked to say anything.
Evan shrugged,
"I feel like it. Call it a going-away prank."
"We're setting all this up on the random whims of a Slytherin with nothing to lose, you mean," Severus said for the Gryffindors' benefit.
"Yeah, pretty much," Evan said, grinning and not seeming overly troubled.
"Sounds fun," Sirius said, grinning. Severus refrained from making a comment about Gryffindors, "We're in need of a good challenge. What do you think, Remus?"
"We are Marauders, aren't we?" Remus was also smiling, "What are those?" He asked pointing at the scrolls that Evan had gathered on the table.
"From the restricted section, so don't tell," Evan said, unrolling one and spreading it out, "Maps and plans of Hogwarts, courtesy Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Perfectly preserved by librarians and just waiting for the next generation of pranksters to get a hold of them (I'll return them when we're done). When I said it would be school-wide, I meant school-wide. We're not going to leave one common room, empty corridor, or wardrobe un-changed. So, Marauders and Pranksters, up to the challenge?"
"Definitely!" Sirius cheered enthusiastically as Remus and Severus nodded.
"Now, first thing's first, we need to give everyone costumes. Should we design them ourselves, let the students' subconscious' choose? Or should we inform them ahead of time that there will be a costume party and that they have five days to prepare a costume or else? If we do that, we can work with the teachers and we won't have to strip whatever spells they already have in place…"
Four days of working in secret later (oh, the others knew that the four of them, or, at least, Evan and the two Marauders, were up to something but they had no idea as to what it was; they had chosen to solve their problem by mentioning it 'secretly' somewhere where they knew Dumbledore was listening and being suitably 'shocked' when Dumbledore announced a Halloween Ball with costumes to be ready by the morning of the day) and everything was almost complete. Any and all decorative spells by the teachers were stripped off by Harry and temporarily blocked any others; replaced by Harry and the Marauders' own decoration spells (actually nice; it was a prank but not a prank) to appear on the morning of Halloween. A mask of some sort was required for all the costumes and the four of them had spent the previous night each in separate Houses, spelling masks so that they would hide the identity of the wearer completely and not come off until midnight. Remus and Sirius had promised to take care of all last-minute shoppers' masks, as well as clothing if they forgot to make, magic, or buy a costume before the morning of the Ball.
Harry could feel the magic twist and shift back into place throughout that today and it was clear to him that it was the day that he would be forced to leave to his own time. He made it perfectly clear to the others.
"I'm going to leave today," he stated calmly.
"What, today?" Sirius asked surprised.
"That's what he just said, Black," Severus said in a slightly annoyed but mostly bored tone of voice. Inside, however, he wholeheartedly agreed with Sirius.
"I'll go around midnight. You won't be able to see me off," Harry continued, "But for now let's just get this prank set up, okay? Then we can cry and blubber and do whatever else Gryffindors do when saying goodbye and I can spend the rest of the day wrapping up everything I need done."
The rest of the morning was spent quietly, everyone's mood rather upset by the news. Evan and Sirius, at least, tried to keep the atmosphere between everyone cheerful despite their own gloominess. All too soon the spells were all in place, double and triple-checked until at last there were no excuses to stay any longer.
"Why don't you go ahead, Severus," Evan suggested finally, "Let us have a Gryffie moment. I'll see you tonight when I'm finished with everything else. There should be at least an hour or two to talk before I'm forced to leave."
Severus shrugged and left the room. Evan turned to the Gryffindors,
"I'm really sorry that I just have to leave like this," He started, "Thank you for being so great to me for all this time."
Sirius gave a bitter laugh,
"Not all the time. I barely talked to you at first and that was all insults."
"I'm used to it," Evan said, smiling, "I get some of my best friends that way. I'm not really one for first impressions either." He sighed, "I'm really going to miss you all."
"Tell us why you have to leave," Remus urged, "Maybe we can help you."
"No, no one could help me with this. And besides, I have someone at home I need to confront. Two someones, actually, if I live through the first encounter. It all matters whether or not I get back before midnight, I guess."
"I thought you were leaving at midnight?" Remus asked.
"It's not going to take any time to get there. Call it apparation if it makes things simpler." Apparation through time, that is.
"Well," Sirius started sounding not-quite tearful but definitely not calm, "We're all going to miss you, too, Evan."
Harry smiled at them,
"Thanks, Sirius." It was the first time that he had called Sirius by is first name and it caught the Marauders a bit off guard. He turned to Remus, "I will return, though it won't be for several years. If you could see me, would you like me to approach you?"
"Of course!" Remus said.
"No matter what?" Evan asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes."
"I'll try, then," Evan said.
"What about me?" Sirius asked.
"I can't."
"What?" Sirius asked, finding this extremely unfair, as he should, "Why not?"
"I just can't. Please understand that I'm not choosing Remus over you but there are certain people to whom I'll have to say my final goodbyes to today."
"I don't get it," Sirius said sullenly, "But if there's really no choice…" And suddenly he realized how upset Evan looked, "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Evan said, smiling sadly, "I just wish that I could see you again…You know, when I get back. Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck with your lives," One would be betrayed and thrown into Azkaban, the other, betrayed by all his friends but one who he could no longer see, thrown out on the streets by the ministry so that he could not take custody of little Harry Potter, "I'm sorry."
"Bye, Evan," Remus said, "I hope that I can see you again and that you'll be well when we meet again." Not quite, Harry thought, smiling sadly, the first time was a Dementor attack, the second not yet happened.
"Take care of yourself," Sirius told him awkwardly, "Pull some good pranks and have a good life. We'll take care of everything here." But he wouldn't. Without his memories, he would revert back to the Sirius he had been when Evan first met him, full of petty prejudices and hate of everything Slytherin.
"Well," Harry said, taking a deep breath, "I guess this is it. Goodbye Moony, goodbye Padfoot." And he left the room. When the two Marauders exited after him, he was gone.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Lily, James!" Evan called, finally spotting his two targets (it hadn't taken that long, having been led there by the castle). James was trying to convince Lily to go with him to the Halloween Ball and Lily was refusing. Too bad that both of their efforts were useless, not that either of them knew that.
"Yes, Evan?" Lily asked, happy at the distraction.
"Can I talk to you two for a minute?"
"Okay," Lily said brightly and looked at James expectantly.
"Er…Sure."
"Thanks," Harry said brightly, though a little uncomfortable at talking to both of his parents at the same time. Hogwarts opened a passage for them in a nearby wall and Harry led them inside. The door closed behind them and he could feel Dumbledore's wards cut off as he lost track of what Evan was saying.
"Well, what'd you want to talk about?" James asked, slightly annoyed at being interrupted.
"I'm leaving today," Harry informed them both as bluntly as he had told his three partners-in-crime for the Halloween Ball Prank.
"Huh?" was James' eloquent answer.
"Already?" Lily asked, startled.
"Yeah, I'm afraid that I have to go and," he hesitated, trying to decide what to tell his future parents, "When I leave I will have to erase everyone's memories of me."
"What?" James was shocked. Lily was equally shocked, though a bit calmer about it. She stared at Evan wide-eyed.
"Why?" was her only question.
"It would be dangerous to all of you and me. There are some weird things happening with the magic here, memories of me could do more harm than any of us can risk. I'm really sorry."
"You have no choice?" She asked, trying out the words, wondering whether it was worth it to get really angry. She just felt…tired, drained. Evan was…leaving? He was stealing her memories of him as he left?
"I'm really sorry," Evan repeated, not looking at her, "I know I can't ask you to understand but…please forgive me eventually."
"Forgive you?" Lily asked hollowly, "How are we supposed to forgive you if we don't remember you?"
Evan looked up and she saw raw pain in his emerald eyes. She looked away.
"I don't know if I can," Lily said slowly, "If you gave me time, I'd try but…There is no time."
"I…Don't know what you have to do," James said, "I don't know why you'd have to take our memories but I think we'd be better off knowing. I don't care about the dangers."
"That's impossible," Harry stated flatly, "If I leave you with the memories, the magic might do it on its own and that's irreversible and much less delicate. I'm sorry. You all mean the world to me; you're my friends but…I can't risk it. Not again. Just…be happy, live your life, and forget about me."
"I can't say I understand," James said softly, "But I think I do, in a way. I can't say I forgive you, but I think I already have in a way."
"Thank you," Harry said.
"If there's nothing I can do to change your mind…" Lily said, "I don't want to forget anything. But…Just be careful, Evan. With the rest of your life."
"Thanks, Lily, James," Harry said quietly. Mom, dad, "Be happy, please."
Until you die.
And he left.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Harry arrived back in the Slytherin Dormitories quite some time later, where Severus was waiting for him. His bag had already been packed, had been for weeks. He just had to wait.
He sat on his bed, holding his trunk. Hopefully it would make the jump through time with him and if not…Well, that was just a couple old spell books. But there were some things that still held memories…Maybe it would be somewhere at Hogwarts when he returned. If he ever returned to Hogwarts. Severus was sitting on his own bed, across from him. Well, it was now or never.
"I'm…not from this time," Harry confessed. Today seemed to be his day for Gryffindor straightforwardness. Well, he wasn't sure how he'd get around to telling everyone he'd be leaving without it.
Severus blinked,
"What do you mean?"
"I'm from the future," He fought down the urge to twitch or pace or any other nervous motion, "Actually, I don't know what time I'm from," he said bitterly, "But I'll have to return to the future soon. And…I can't afford for this past to interfere with the future. It would cause a paradox. Hogwarts can help me a little, make sure I don't show up in records and such, but there are people I know in the future…including you. And you definitely don't know me as Evan Harrison then. So…You have to forget."
"Forget?" Severus asked, feeling strangely numb.
"Before I go…Everyone has to forget that Evan Harrison ever existed. It also includes taking away most of the skills that I taught you over the past month. But if you're ever in danger…well, about to die, more like, you'll be able to access any or all of the abilities that might save your life."
There was a long silence, stretching for what seemed to be eternity.
"What am I like in the future?" Severus asked hesitantly.
Harry smiled sadly,
"You're the potion master of Hogwarts and Head of Slytherin House. All the Gryffindors are scared of you. The Slytherins admire you." There was something odd about his tone of voice. Severus thought about what Evan had just said…Surely Evan had been a Slytherin…But something told him that his assumption was incorrect.
"You're a Gryffindor," Severus accused.
His friend's answering smile was not a happy one,
"I was for a time. For that time. But then, before, after, I was a Slytherin."
Severus was confused,
"After or before?"
"Both. Neither. I don't know."
"But you're from the future."
"In a manner of speaking. Yes. Mostly."
This conversation was making less and less sense to Severus,
"I don't want you to go."
"I don't want to go; but some things are inevitable and the magic will send me whether I like it or not. I'm…not in my time. I need to go back."
"I…You can erase my memories if you have to," Severus said quietly.
"Thank you," Harry said, "But here's the thing. I can give you your memories back when I return to my time; I have the power to do that. But maybe it would be better if I didn't. You wouldn't like it."
"I don't care if you're a Gryffindor," Severus said, stubbornly, "I don't care if I hate Gryffindors. I don't want to hate you. Please…Can you…When you get back…"
"It's not just that," Harry said, frowning, "Getting a large amount of suppressed memories can seriously mess you up. Trust me, I would know. And it's years from now. Many, many, many, many years. It'll be practically a different life and memories of your old one might not be welcome."
"I'd still want to know," Severus insisted
"If that's what you really want."
"It is." There was another silence, "You said I didn't know you as Evan Harrison. What did I know you as?"
"I was known as a lot of things," Harry said, Boy, Gryffindor, golden boy, Potter, Boy-Who-Lived… "My friends knew me as Harry." What friends?
"Just Harry?"
Harry smiled bitterly,
"Just Harry." I wish… "Oh…Here." Harry tossed Sev a small box, "Since I'm not going to…be here for Christmas…"
Glancing curiously at his friend, he pulled off the golden bow and tore off the green wrapping paper. Inside was a box. Inside the box was a strange pendant, a tiny silver serpent wrapped around a small stone that was changing colors rapidly.
"The stone will keep you safe from most spells and potions as long as you have it with you," Harry explained, "The snake is Serphenia." Severus looked up at his friend in shock. "She and I both talked and we decided that this was best. We both want you to be safe, Sev. You won't be able to understand her, since I'll be locking away your parseltongue abilities but sometimes if you're in trouble she'll be able to whisper advice to you."
"Evan…Harry…I can't take this," Severus said, "Serphenia…she's your familiar, isn't she?"
"Yes, I think. Yes." Severus raised an eyebrow at that. How could you think that someone was your familiar but not be sure? "Just keep her and be safe." Evan did not allow Severus any time to answer. "Now, there are other things to talk about…"
"Harry…" Severus said when everything was done, "Thank you."
Harry gave him an odd smile from across the room and cast the spell. And then the last of the magic snapped back into place. There was no vortex of magic and wind this time, no uproar, no disturbance. He was just there and then he…wasn't. As if the rubber band had flung him back to his time faster than the eye could see.
Severus Snape was left staring at the vacated bed in front of him, the bed that had always been empty yet looked strangely messy, as if someone had been sleeping in it or sitting on it just recently. He stared bemusedly down at the letter that he was holding in one hand and the strange (and perhaps gaudy) pendant that was clutched in his other hand. The ribbon, torn wrapping paper, and small box that lay next to him on his bed indicated that it was a present recently opened but he had no idea of any such event occurring
How strange.
He looked at the letter.
Dear future me, it said and Severus raised an eyebrow,
Yes, I admit this is a bit strange but believe it or not, this is your…past self. As of probably about two minutes ago. Yes, yes, I know, but hear me out. I…we…met an extraordinary person lately, and he was…is…from the future. He's been here for a couple months but now has to return to his own time, taking our memories of him with him so that he doesn't cause a paradox. His name, as of his stay here, is Evan Harrison and I'm not allowed to say anything else that might allow you to guess his identity. That's why I'm writing this, so that you won't be able to recognize his handwriting and, anyway, you're more likely to believe yourself than some random stranger that you have no memory of meeting.
Evan was…is…our friend. He really was. Believe me when I say that he made our life a lot better in the past few months. The pendant is a gift from him and I took more from him than you know, can even imagine, by accepting it. Please treat it well.
I know you probably can't remember more than vague images if anything at all but he offered to contact me again in the future, when he gets back. That would be you actually, to give us our memories back and make us…Me. You. Something in between. Evan says it's bound to be messy but…I want to give him a chance.
The instructions are simple. If you are still willing to regain your memories, attach this letter to the door of wherever you are staying (you may charm it's contents unreadable, he has other ways of telling as long as it's this letter) between the 21 and 22 of August. You will have to do this every year (to prevent us from knowing around when he's from).
Now I'm sorry that at this point it probably sounds like a prank from the Marauders but I am sincere about this. I want to do this. It's up to you whether or not you choose to remember.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Lily watched a shooting star making a desperate wish for remembrance.
And then it was all gone.
Lily looked dreamily at the sky. It was beautiful with the bright stars and the moon…spreading out forever…She shivered. It was chilly outside. And what was she doing out here in the first place? The Halloween Ball was tomorrow and, though she still wasn't sure she wanted to participate, it was a school day too and currently it was rather late.
She went inside.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
(Short (?) extra, mostly or all unrelated to the plot)
Summary: Lily's diary to her future self; begins with her feelings about Evan disappearing and not even remembering the fact (but that ends as soon as she descends the stairs). It is, scarily enough, a romance including the prank that Evan, Severus, Remus, and Sirius play for Halloween. A romance from a person who has never written romance, mostly fluff, very little plot, not graphic at all (I think). You have been warned.
From the journal of Lily Evans:
Dear Future,
Today the strangest thing happened. No, several strange things. It all started with this weird Ball…No, I suppose that's not it at all. It started, I suppose, when I woke up.
When I first woke up, I felt a deep feeling of loss, as if something very important to me had been taken away, which itself is odd, as I checked all my supplies and even wrote a letter to mother but all of my possessions remain intact except for the my favorite skirt that Petunia ruined 'accidentally' but that was weeks ago and I got over it quickly. But it was strange and I felt tired as if I had stayed up all night and my cheeks felt tear-stained as if I'd cried myself to sleep. Maybe I'd had an upsetting dream but dreams never seem to bother me and definitely not that badly. It is strange that I don't remember any of it but when I try really hard I can see green. I wonder why?
When I got out of bed, I found that I was in my room alone (a room with only one bed, it was getting stranger and stranger) and when I opened my wardrobe (the only wardrobe) there was nothing but the costume that I'd made for the Ball. I was so angry at myself for making the costume so flashy but, then again, I had help. One of the boys in our year helped me put it together…I don't remember his name; he must have been a Slytherin. I think it was either that or Gryffindor, which is strange, since all the male Gryffindors in our years are the Marauders and there's no way I would have let any of them near my costume. Then again, why would I let a Slytherin near my costume?
Anyways I tried transfiguring it into something else, the spell didn't work. I couldn't just go down in my pajamas, you must understand, I had sent all my cloths down to be washed the day previously and all I had was a shirt that Petunia gave me for my birthday that was ugly as it was enormous (and it was probably ten times as big as I am) and my underwear. I was tomato red by that point with frustration and anger but I gave into the stupid prank and got dressed in the costume.
I suppose I'd better describe it too. I'll add a picture if I have time. I was dressed up as a phoenix; a beautiful red dress that I definitely didn't think up (it must have been my helper, whoever he was), a small golden tiara (that, once I put in on my head, arranged my hair to look fancy, though pretty, I have to admit…and I was planning to leave it out, really! I'd just put on everything else and I wanted to see how it would look like but once I put it on it wouldn't come out!), a thin, red, feathered mask with gold specks and a golden beak, gloves, and earrings (now I'm positive that I didn't put all that stuff there). Not to mention the huge red (again with gold specks) wings sticking out of the back of the dress (well, they stuck out of my back but they came with the dress) that were charmed so I could fold and unfold them at will so I wouldn't have so many problems with doorways and crowds and such.
But enough about the stupid costume. I went downstairs and found myself in…well, it must have been the Gryffindor Common Room, but it sure didn't look like it. Other people were waking up too, wearing similarly-color-themed outfits. I later found out that people were placed in different houses according to what color outfits they were wearing (in other words, mostly randomly) to disorient them. Getting more and more confused and annoyed, I mad my way down to the Great Hall (the most direct way was marked for the non-Gryffindors that otherwise might not have been able to find their common rooms). The tables had been rearranged (well, just turned sideways so that everyone was a bit confused) and decorated, as was everything that I'd seen so far, including the room I'd woken up in. A large sign hanging above the teacher's table invited everyone to sit down at whatever table they wanted. Modified class schedules were distributed by what must have been house-elves, though all of those wore costumes too (they must have been illusions, as they were all still bound to Hogwarts).
I chatted with a nice girl that was costumed as a witch (an improved muggle's version, it was cute) during breakfast and we headed off towards our new first classes. Classes were…different that day. We all went to classes in a different order and with different people than previously to make sure that we couldn't identify each other, all in the same grade as us but completely disregarding the different Houses. I actually met a lot of new people (it was nice, whoever thought of this was obviously past inter-House boundaries and it was a really good idea) that I didn't know and still don't know. I had four classes with a nice boy in my year dressed as a dragon, with scaly blue-green wings and a matching mask. He even had a spiked tale, which he seemed less-than-amused at and which I thought was hilarious. Mr. Dragon (for the spell on our masks prevented us from giving names that were too revealing of our identities and he couldn't think of any others; he called me Ms Phoenix, too) told me that his friends helped him with most of his costume, as he was too busy trying to ask a girl out to the ball (but, alas, even if she had agreed he wouldn't have been able to find her) so maybe his friend was the Slytherin that helped me with my costume? What a lucky coincidence, I thought, since we did seem to match. He did look around an awful lot, though, as if hoping to catch site of his crush but he really had no chance; the spells were done very well. We sat together after the first class and we eventually ended up going to the Ball together.
The Ball…Now that was something else. Gone were the bright decorations that had lasted during the day (they had seemed almost muggle but less cheap plastic and more nice gold goblets and such), now there was an eerie atmosphere of mist, cobwebs, and darkness. When you looked outside, there were hundreds of jack-o-lanterns (courtesy a couple busy charms classes) spaced out among paths that led through what seemed to be the forbidden forest but closer and a little less dangerous. There was also a haunted house, which I thought was rather odd, but the designer seemed to know a bit about muggles. Some girls took advantage of the creepy darkness to get closer to their dancing partners, claiming 'fright'.
I didn't approve, so I led Mr. Dragon over to the snacks table and then Mr. Dragon invited me to a dance, as a friend, and we had a blast. I didn't know much formal dancing, so we mostly made fun of the snobbish purebloods. Then we went through the haunted house, which Mr. Dragon found hilarious, and, in the back, we found an inflatable slide, definitely muggle with a few magical improvements. I was, to say the least, a bit shocked, but had a go at it (there were charms on it so it was okay to go with nice clothing, jewelry, and skirts, and nothing would get lost or rumpled and nobody would get embarrassed. It was fun. Mr. Dragon and I were fast becoming good friends and I was got from so many turns running around the slide so we took a walk in the forest, enjoying the spooky mist and strange light and apparitions in the forest. I was getting tired, so Mr. Dragon carried me, yes, carried me back to the castle through a passageway that I didn't know of and up to some deserted little battlement-type tower not far from the ground or the Great Hall (it was nice, not so high as some of the Astronomy towers; and no it was not the Astronomy Tower) and went to get me some snacks and something to drink.
I sat up on the thick ledge where he had put me down (and he was nice about it and all, made sure I wasn't afraid of heights or anything) until he came back with food and drinks for us. We ate, talked some more and had a nice time. We were both getting a bit tired, so it must have been late. I was staring at the sky and thinking and suddenly remembered finding myself out on one of these towers the night before without any memory of how I'd gotten there. This was really strange, because I didn't remember that before and I shivered. Mr. Dragon saw, well felt (we were sitting close together, it was cold and we were friends, we weren't sitting that close together), me shiver and was worried that I was cold. So he asked me if I was cold, sort of wrapping his arms around me to keep me warm, right. I turned, told him I was fine and…Well…We, um, kissed. It was an accident, I swear! He was right there, I was right there and we just sort of…I'm not even going to write about this.
And so I pulled away/he pulled away and he was looking kind of guilty but before either of us could say anything this big chiming clock noise filled the castle. Like Cinderella; it was definitely midnight. And I realized just who he was.
He was, surprise, surprise, James Potter and he seemed to realize who he was at the same time. I was shocked, he was shocked, we were shocked. He said something like, "Lily! Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry," blah blah blah, blah blah blah. On and on and I was really tired and I just wanted him to shut up so I could get to bed so I…Kissed him again, kind of. I was tired, I don't know what I was thinking! It must have been those questionable drinks that the vampire-costumed man was serving!
But he was really nice to me when he didn't know who I was.
If we ever have a child, we're naming him Harry.
I sooo did not just write that.
Love,
A very confused Lily Evans
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
I don't write romance. But I did. How scary. But it's Lily and James I had to do something before Harry went home…I don't know. It was purely unintentional. And I'll just tell everyone that, while I've read a couple romance fics (if they were good), I've never done anything romantic in my life so…Right. It's probably unrealistic. And sappy. And who-knows-what else. Needless to stay, I'm staying out of the romance zone from now on. Maybe I should have made it an extra chapter or an extra fic? I can always do that anytime. Tell me what you think I should do, then.
I skipped a bunch in this chapter (sorry about that) including most of Evan's remaining month but I'm as anxious to get Harry back to the future as much as some of you.
And here we go. Next chapter: He's back in his own time.