Severus Snape and Potter's Memories

Summary: ? During-HP3 afterward with eventual major changes, somewhat post-HP7 (you'll see...), epilogue doesn't exist!

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided), I.E. JamesLily, Slight RonHermione, Slight HarryGinny, OneSided SeverusLily, OneSided PansyDraco, AND OTHERS. Also look out for: ...I'm not sure yet. Definately a Friendship!DracoHarry, although it might evolve into something more, and lots of Friendship!HarrySnape that will doubtfully evolve into something more. I guess we'll all just have to wait and find out.

Chapter One

The week before September 1st was always the most hectic as far as Hogwarts' teachers were concerned. There were lesson plans to go over, supplies to re-stock, spells to be placed on more explosion-prone areas of the Castle, the breifing of the Head Boy and Girl before school starts, last-minute letters from concerned parents (mostly Muggles) to answer, and many, many other things. The week was especially hectic for one Potions Master Severus Snape.

As a Potions Master (mentioned above), Severus was forced to spend the better part of this week double checking and re-warding his supply cubbord to make sure that it was prepared for students. His record for longest time spent doing just that without pausing was a full thirty-eight hours before Minerva came down to almost literally force a sleeping potion down his throat.

However, that wouldn't be necessary this time; with the mess that was the Chamber of Secrets the year before, many of his supplies outside of those that were needed for the potion to wake up the Petrified students were left surprisingly in-tact. As a matter of fact, other than Boomslang Skin, he didn't really need to worry about the supplies for at least another year. None the less, he ordered a little more of everything just in case before trudging out of the dungeons to brave dinner in the Great Hall.

He had no idea just how big of a deal that was.

-!-

"Hello, Severus," greeted Dumbledore as cheerfully as ever. Severus bit down the urge to retort scathingly and instead inclined his head in the Headmaster's direction.

"Headmaster," he responded quietly. Without waiting for further conversation, Severus walked towards his usual spot at the small table they used over the summer holidays and sat between Minerva and Poppy-two of the least annoying people at the table as far as Severus was concerned.

"-still believe that these old school brooms are getting too old and dangerous for the students to ride," Hooch said to Poppy from the Mediwitch's other side as Severus began to gather food onto his plate. "I mean, honestly, the last time we updated was in the sixties! Thirty years is a long time, especially for a broom!"

"I completely agree," Poppy said with a serious nod, stabbing a piece of chicken with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary. "I can't tell you how many more students had been coming into the Infirmery within the last two weeks of school with broken bones and concussions because one of those brooms went wild on them! Now, they were being used outside of class, mind you, but still-"

Severus tuned out their conversation easily, already bored with the concept. Minerva seemed to notice and gave a slight smile.

"They have this argument every year," the elder Professor noted, reaching up to adjust her glasses as Severus' eyes slipped in her direction. "And every year we have to decline because actual classroom supplies take priority."

"You would think they would get the message after so long," drawled Severus almost absently as he pushed a lock of hair from his face. Minerva again smiled that small smile she tended to neglect using during the school year.

"Yes, well, I suppose there's no rule against complaining...I, myself, would enjoy having some new tables for my room-they get rickety after too many spells are accidently shot at them and reversed..."

Severus nodded his silent agreement, thinking about how many times he had to repair his own tables after some idiot student screwed up his potion, before returning his ears to the conversations around him.

"A wizard, an alchemist, and a muggle walk into a bar..." Dumbledore was saying to Fillius, who looked like he wanted to run away already. Severus offered a look of slight understanding before tuning them out, as well, returning his attention to the other people at the table.

"I'm telling you, Septima, the spirits insist that something huge is going to happen soon!" Trelawney said in a stage whisper that the whole entire table could hear if they were actually paying attention (needless to say they weren't, save Severus and Septima). "And it involves our dearest Severus!"

Septima Vector, instead of rolling her eyes or disagreeing as Severus suspected she would, instead-and to the Potions Professor's great shock-nodded in agreement. Her whisper was more of an actual whisper than a stage whisper as she muttered, "I know, my calculations say the same thing...nearly all of them point towards an unknown and unnatural disturbance either tonight or tomorrow. I have no idea what it is, but it's going to affect everything about the future-especially our dear Severus..."

Deciding Septima had lost it, Severus finally turned back towards Minerva, who was content to merely eat her food until she noticed the coal black eyes on her.

"Something wrong, Severus?" asked Minerva with a slight frown, setting aside her fork. Severus glanced towards Trelawney and Vector for only an instant, but it was long enough for Minerva to notice and scoff lightly. "Them? Whose death is Sybill predicting now?"

"No death," Severus softly admitted. "However, they actually both agreed on a future outcome..."

This caused Minerva to start in shock, gazing at Severus with wide eyes. She, like most other people at the table, doubted everything Trelawney said, but trusted Vector's predictions to a fault because she had the mathmatical and magical proof to back it up.

"Are you sure?" Minerva finally asked, lowering her voice even as she continued to stare with a somewhat incredulous look at the spy. Severus remained silent for only an instant before inclining his head in a nod, causing Minerva to pale a fraction. "That...is most likely not good."

"So I noticed," Severus dryly said. Ignoring the comment, Minerva quickly turned back to her food in an obvious attempt to ignore the sense of dread that was enclosing both her and, secretly, Severus.

"Something wrong, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked from his Deputy Headmistress' other side, sounding mildly concerned. Severus noted with some sense of dry amusement that the twinkle had dulled conciderably with Minerva's obvious distress.

After a breath, Minerva opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to think on it and closed her mouth with a slight, terse shake of her head. "It's nothing, Albus," she assured the Headmaster, who merely twinkled at her before turning back to his own conversation with the newly-arrived Lupin (Severus glowered darkly at the man for a moment) about the pros and cons of sour candy.

Severus patiently waited until Dumbledore was fully engaged in his conversation and Minerva was glancing at him again before saying, "They said that something will happen either tonight or tomorrow, and it would affect me more than anyone else."

Minerva pulled a face at that. "Of course...why would anything else even possibly happen?"

Allowing his lips to twitch upwards in a near-smile, Severus silently agreed as he returned to his food. "...apparently our supposed future is in jeopardy from this 'disturbance'."

"There's a disturbance in the Force," mumbled Minerva, actually drawing an amused snort from Severus through the Muggle reference. Out of all of the occupants of the table, only they, Hooch, and possibly Dumbledore most likely understood it in the slightest.

"Aptly put," Severus curtly said, ending the discussion.

However, despite Trelawny and Septima's prediction, nothing happened at dinner, and Severus retired to his room to dream about fleeting images of torture and death and a snake bearing its fangs, poised to strike at his neck...

The next day, after a long night of tossing and turning to dreams Severus' Occlumancy should have easily kept out, the Professor managed to drag himself out of bed and to breakfast just in time for the rush of all the other teachers. Normally, he was up earlier so that he could avoid seeing anyone until dinner (as that had set time restraints due to the house elves), but he had slept late because of the dreams and was forced to eat with the others. He was irritable-well, more so than usual-as a result.

"Ah, good morning, Severus!" called Dumbledore cheerfully as the man sat down between Minerva and Poppy...again. The Headmaster's only reply was a slight incline of Severus's head before the man started to gather food onto his plate.

"Severus, you look tired!" Poppy began almost instantly, scowling at the man. "Did you sleep at all last night, or did you stay up to make one of your potions?"

Severus barely resisted the urge to scowl himself. "Good morning to you as well, Poppy," he greeted dryly. "Yes, I did go to sleep last night."

And he left it at that.

"Are you all right?" Minerva asked after a few moments, also looking concerned. Practically snarling, Severus turned to give the woman a scalding reply when a shimmering caught his eye just above head level. Confusion alit onto his features before his black eyes widened in realization, but just as Minerva turned to see what had his attention-

"Oomph!"

-a figure fell out of the shimmering area and landed, hard, on the floor next to the teachers' table.

Said teachers were shocked into silence for a long moment, although some had jumped to their feet and were now pointing wands at the intruder before the man (for it appeared to be male) groaned lightly and turned his head. For a fleeting and wild moment, Severus actually entertained the thought that the twenty-or-so brunette on the floor was James Potter, but that thought fled his mind when the man opened his bleary eyes.

Those bleary, impossibly green eyes that haunted Severus almost every night, although they were placed instead in the face of a kind woman with soft red hair and a charming smile...

"Mmmph," the man hummed-groaned, blinking slowly as he managed to twist himself onto his back. His face was reasonably paler than anyone could remember, he lacked glasses, and his hair was just short of hitting his shoulders save the bangs that fell down to his chin, but there was no denying that this man was none other than a somewhat older and disoriented Harry James Potter. "...wha...?"

Suddenly, Potter's eyes filled with clarity and he snapped into a crouched position on the floor, wand out and pointed steadily in the table's direction. Then he blinked.

And blinked again.

And blinked again.

"..." Potter said intelligently, his face flickering from confused to completely unemotional in about two seconds flat. Severus, loathe as he was to admit it, could literally see the boy's mind churning as information processed (although that was all he could see in the Slytherin-emerald orbs). It only took a few moments for him to ask: "...when am I?"

"Wh-what?" stammered Minerva, the only one who seemed able to speak at the moment save the infuriatingly silent and twinkling-eyed Dumbledore. Potter took a deep breath before standing up, absently brushing a lock of his bangs away from his face.

Potter offered a blink in Minerva's direction. "I asked when I was."

The Transfiguration teacher looked absolutely floored. "Why?"

"Well, for one thing, you're all wearing cloaks despite the fact that it's the summer holidays," Potter pointed out pleasently enough, allowing a slight smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "That tradition was shot down three years ago. You have a few more brunette hairs than I last saw," Minerva sputtered somewhat, but Potter ignored the reaction and continued, "and Dumbledore seems to still be Headmaster..."

Potter inclined his head in Dumbledore's direction in greeting, to which the Headmaster responded with a smile and a nod in return even though Potter already had returned his attention to Minerva.

"...not to mention the fact that I can tell by the excessive amounts of red and gold that Slytherin didn't win the House Cup this year, which hasn't happened since the years between 1991 and 1998. So," Potter went on, gazing at them all with silent curiosity in his otherwise dead eyes, "when is it?"

For the longest time, silence was his only response.

"August 27th, 1993," Dumbledore suddenly said, his kind voice echoing somewhat in the spacious Great Hall. If Potter was at all affected by the date, he didn't show it other than to, again, incline his head towards Dumbledore.

Silence, again, filled the Hall.

-LATER-

Harry looked at Severus from between locks of his semi-long hair, wearing that eerily familiar look that seemed to pierce the Professor's very soul. "Professor," Harry said slowly, drawlingly, purposefully making the syllables longer to make sure he had the man's attention before he went on, "you don't recieve nearly thirty-eight years of someone else's memories and walk away the same person you were before."

And without further ado, Harry strolled down another hallway, leaving an absolutely floored Severus Snape behind.

-END-

MKL's Post-Production Notes (9-10-13): It always bothered me that Rowling didn't do more with Harry getting Snape's memories. I mean, SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!

SPOILERS: Basically, while Harry only saw the most important of Snape's memories during/before the Final Battle at Hogwarts, later one he went back and realized there were a lot more in there. It turns out that all of Snape's memories were in there, with a few gaps (because there were a few seconds between the time Snape began leaking memories and Hermione conjoured the bottle for them), and Harry accidentally manages to immerse himself in them so completely that they become like his own. Because he's Harry and that sort of shite happens to him. Anyway, being only 17 at the time and having 37 years of memories forced into his head, Harry ended up gaining a ridiculous amount of Snape's personality traits with only slight buffering due to his early life beforehand. The story would begin with no one but Harry knowing why he acts the way he does until, eventually, the secret would come out...somehow. Likely because of his younger self being a nosy brat haha. But yeah, that's all I got. An interesting concept that I'll likely never continue but would love to see someone else do so. ^.^