Chapter Three – Just In Time

Andrea's quill scratched feverishly on her parchment as she documented the final question of her written Potions OWL. She raised her head from her desk and glanced around the Great Hall. Every student was hunched over their parchment, faces crinkled in thought and wrists cramped from writing.

She was finished an hour before the scheduled end of the exam time, an unexpected blip in her otherwise perfect plan. Even Severus was still bent over his desk, his dark hair obscuring his parchment from view. Only the top of his quill was visible, the feather swooshing through the air with fervor.

She attributed her rapid completion to her experience at her father's tavern. Her knowledge of potions had developed considerably after she had left Hogwarts. The real-world experience she received working with her father at Fiddle and Smith's deeply enhanced her knowledge of the craft: how to mingle ingredients to enhance their individual powers, the delicate art of brewing, and the complex process of bottling.

Forcing her mind to quickly develop of a plan, Andrea then stood up from her seat, her chair creaking as it slid along the hard floor. Several students broke their concentration to discover who had already completed the OWL. Their eyes followed Andrea with jealousy as she walked toward Professor Slughorn near the front of the Great Hall, glaring at her parchment saturated with ink.

"Thank you, Miss Smith." Slughorn eyed the parchment with curiosity, which seemed to mesh into satisfaction as he read through the first few lines of her written text. "You are free to leave."

Andrea smiled and nodded at Slughorn, then twisted around to exit the Great Hall. She resisted the urge to look at him, but she was fully aware of Severus's eyes watching her as she passed his desk, the black orbs wide with awe.

As Andrea passed Amy's desk, her friend's eyes were bright with fascination, and the slightest of smiles appeared on her face. "I hate you," Amy mouthed, the smile proving she was only joking. Andrea stifled her laughter as she grabbed her bag and exited the Great Hall.

*****

Andrea impatiently waited for the remaining hour of the Potions OWL for Amy to exit. She needed her assistance for the next phase of her plan. Andrea paced outside the huge oak doors, her head whipping toward them each time a new student exited.

From what Andrea remembered, Potions was not Amy's favorite subject. Her lack of passion for it meant she loathed studying it even more.

The doors opened again, but instead of her friend, Severus emerged followed by Gryffindor Sirius Black.

"Nice work, Snivelus," Sirius sneered. "If you're so good at Potions, how come that Hufflepuff finished thirty minutes before you did?"

Severus slung his bag over his shoulder but kept his head down as Sirius taunted him. Her stomach churned in response to the verbal abuse Severus took from the Gryffindor bully.

What an ass hole, she thought, recalling the hardballs of insults that were constantly being hurled at Severus. And just because he was smart.

The creak of the oak doors interrupted her thoughts, and she was relieved when Amy exited the Great Hall, Rob behind her carrying her bag.

"How'd it go?" Andrea asked, hurrying over to the twosome.

"Ugh, not that great," Amy responded, rolling her eyes at her presumed failure.

"She did fine," Robert interjected, nudging her arm with his elbow.

"Yea, what's the worst that could happen?" Andrea added, offering her friend an encouraging smile "You get an 'E' instead of an 'O'? Like Rob said, I'm sure you did fine." Andrea nodded her head at her own attempt to console her friend. Potions was, in fact, the only subject Amy would receive an 'E' in – she would receive an 'O' in every other subject.

"I guess. But I didn't finish an hour early – what was up with that? Since when did you become such a Potions brainiac?"

Andrea felt herself blushing at Amy's comment. "I just studied the hell out of it. But since I did it so fast … I probably screwed up. You never know." Andrea added her final statement with the hope of sounding more like her former anxious self. But she changed the subject before Amy or Rob could respond. "Hey, before I forget, I need your help with something."

"What's up?" Amy asked, sensing the urgency in Andrea's voice.

"Is Lily still in there?"

Amy nodded, but it was Rob who responded verbally. "Yea. You know how thorough she is. I mean, she's already one of Slughorn's favorites. It's not like she needs to try very hard to get an 'O'."

"Okay, good." Andrea's eyes frantically shifted as if the movements of her eyeballs were solidifying the next steps of her plan. "I need you guys to distract her for me."

Both Amy and Robert raised an eyebrow in unison, then glanced at each other, clearly suspicious of Andrea's request.

"And why are we distracting Lily Evans?" Amy asked, a rich, quizzical tone to her voice.

"I, um, …" Should she tell them as much of the truth as she could? Why not? Nothing else would sound remotely normal. "I sort of like Severus—"

"You fancy Snape?" Rob responded, his jaw dropping in shock.

"Yes, Rob, she likes him." The tone of Amy's voice indicated that she already knew. Andrea reflected on this time period from the first time she had lived it. Did she tell Amy about her crush on Severus? Before she could finish filtering through her thoughts, Amy answered her question. "C'mon, Andrea. You talk about him all the time. It wasn't that hard for me to figure out."

"You fancy Severus Snape?" Rob's voice was still dripping with astonishment.

Amy giggled and rolled her eyes at the same time. "Didn't you see her flaunting her boobs at him before? He may not be a pretty Hufflepuff like someone I know, but he's good enough for our Andrea." Rob grinned in response as Amy poked him, momentarily forgetting about Andrea's alarming news. "So you want us to distract her so you can have a moment alone with your lover?"

Amy's teasing voice made Andrea's first response a sudden outburst of laughter. "Yes. That's pretty much it. He's just always so damn focused on Lily. So I don't want her anywhere near him—"

"While you make your move?" Amy teased again.

"Shut up!" she said back with a laugh. "But yes, that's the idea."

"Done deal."

As if on cue, Lily exited the Great Hall, her features soft and calm unlike most of the other students leaving their Potions exam. Andrea shooed her friends toward Lily, then turned her heels and jogged away in the opposite direction. She feared she was already cutting this close. For all she knew, this sequential plot of events streaming through her head would be worthless. Timing was everything.

Robert and Amy turned around and started to follow Lily down the main corridor. With a flick of his wand, Robert aimed a spell at Lily. Her books instantly fell from her arms and spilled onto the floor, scattering parchment and supplies everywhere.

"Whoops!" Amy called to her, rushing over to the red-haired beauty. "Let me help you with that."

"Thanks." Lily's green eyes sparkled even in the darkness of the castle. She crouched to the floor beside Amy who was already helping Lily gather her belongings. "I guess my mind is not very focused right now."

"How can it be after that exam?" Amy said, an idea suddenly popping into her mind. "I mean, I'm sure it was a breeze for you. You're so good at Potions …" Amy let her voice trail off, forcing the sting of fresh tears to form in her eyes. "And I'm not!" She let the false tears bubble to the surface of her eyes then boil over in a hysterical outburst.

Committed to Amy's acting, Rob hurried to her side as Amy let herself collapse onto the floor. He had to force back a smile at her hysterics as he put a comforting arm around her. Lily had frozen in place, her eyes wide in awe at Amy's sudden emotional display.

"You're so smart!" Amy sobbed, the words blubbering together amidst the tears. "I could never be like you. I studied so much, and there's no way I passed! I need to get good grades on all of my OWLs or my parents will kill me!"

As Amy hoped, Lily crawled to Amy's other side opposite Rob and offered Amy her support. "It's okay, Amy. I'm sure you did fine! You're very smart, you know …"

Andrea was out of breath by the time she burst outside into the warm, late spring morning. The bright sun hit her eyes with a powerful force, the rays temporarily blinding her as she scanned the grounds.

Many fifth-year students were outside studying for their approaching OWLs. Finding Severus and the Gryffindor boys could be a challenge with so many students outside. Since Andrea had not been present for James Potter's public humiliation of Severus, she was unsure of where it took place.

When it took place, however, was soon. And this was the moment in time she wanted to change.

And then, she saw them.

On the opposite end of the grounds, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin were following James up a slowly sloping hill. Andrea could hear their faint laughter from where she was standing. Severus was several feet in front of James, his head lowered like before as he clutched his books to his chest.

Andrea ran.

I can't screw this up. This was the moment she had wanted to relive so she could intervene. All her effort devoted to her time-reversal spell, all the hours, all the tears, all the pain, all the hope, the desire, the frustration … the time she had spent on time itself.

This was her time.

Her chest was burning by the time she neared her destination, but she pushed forward. As she closed in on the boys, Snape whipped around toward James and his gang. Snape's books fell in a sad heap to the ground as he fumbled for his wand from beneath his robes.

"Expelliarmus!" James shouted, fiercely tossing Severus's wand several yards away into the long grass.

Andrea sped up despite the tightening pain in her chest. The hot rays from the sun made her sprint even harder. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and she could feel droplets running down the small of her back underneath her robes. But she was so close. Just a few more seconds.

"C'mon, Snivelus! Why don't you fight back? Your witty comebacks aren't so funny when you don't have your wand, are they?"

Snape was backing away from the gang, the surrounding students egging James on for a good fight. Some of them stood as James closed in on Severus. But since their focus was elsewhere, no one noticed Andrea as she closed in. As James raised his wand, Andrea dove through the air.

"Levicorpus!"

In a flurry of movement, Andrea was suddenly flung upside-down and held suspended in midair. Even though she was overjoyed at her success, the sensation caused her to scream aloud as her limbs flailed in every direction. Many of the students gasped in horror, thinking James had misfired his spell. Even Potter recoiled, shocked by his unintentional attack of Andrea. Amidst the chaos, only once voice stood out.

"Put her down, you filthy git!"

The sound of Severus's angry bellow was all the confirmation Andrea had needed. Her plan had worked.

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Author's Note
In JK Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," we are told about Snape's worst memory taking place after his Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. I realize this chapter doesn't perfectly follow that story line, but I felt the use of the Potions OWL fit better with the story. Forgive me for not being exactly true to the original plot -- I hope you accept my artistic alteration.