Morning moved softly through the window and the sun's warm rays landing on his face woke Severus gently. He blinked, thoroughly disoriented. It took him more than a few breaths for everything to come back to him just as it had every time he had awoken since returning from the dead.

He sat up and stretched. Glancing at the little alarm clock on the bedside table he almost gasped when he realized that he had slept for nearly twelve straight hours. He never slept that long, never felt safe enough to sleep that deeply or that long.

He stood and stretched some more. He stepped closer to the window and looked out at the peaceful scene that was the Weasley homestead. Spring had painted everything here in every color imaginable. Who knew there were so many shades of green? He didn't think that even Hogwarts had quite so many vivid colors surrounding it.

He gave himself another minute or two of wool gathering before neatly making his bed then collecting his toiletries and clothes and heading for the bathroom and a hot shower.


Severus made his way downstairs to find an empty house save for an unknown ginger-haired young man sitting at the kitchen table reading the Daily Prophet who Severus readily assumed was one of the Weasleys.

He looked up at Severus' entrance and his eyes bugged out for a moment. "Blimey. Things I never thought I'd see. You are obviously Severus Snape. I'm Fred Weasley."

"Hello," Severus said simply, processing that this was someone else, who, by all rights, shouldn't be alive and breathing either.

Severus could smell breakfast food in the kitchen but he had apparently slept through it and missed the meal. He thought perhaps he cold tide himself over with an apple… or maybe even two, he doubted Mrs Weasley would mind.

As he was about to reach for an apple, Fred pointed to a covered plate further down the table. "Dad went into work early. Mum left you breakfast under a warming charm. She said she'd be back in time for dinner and that there's a couple of sandwiches in the icebox for you for lunch. She and Ginny are at Hogwarts today helping to redecorate the rebuilt Gryffindor tower."

"Thank you," Severus replied and sat down in front of the plate. He lifted off the cover to find an enormous pile of scrambled eggs, sausages, and toast. All were cooked to perfection and piping hot as if they had just come out of the pan. He picked up a fork and began eating in earnest.

Fred let him eat but stood up and made a fresh pot of tea. When it was done he passed a mug over to Severus and said, "So Dad seemed to think it'd be a good idea for us to talk."

Severus calmly placed his fork down and wiped his mouth. "Why?"

Fred ticked his head to the side and replied with a little smirk, "Because while you might be the last one the Veil spit back out, I was the first."

"Oh," Severus replied.

"The others all came back much younger than you or me, so they didn't have a lot of questions. I thought you might."

Severus nodded. He sipped his tea before he replied. "It almost doesn't seem real."

It was Fred's turn to nod. "Of the seven of us you're the one with the biggest time loss. Well, technically Charity Burbage is, I guess. She left us as a woman in her late forties to come back as a year-old baby. She'll be young enough in her mind that she won't remember her old life at all. But for you… I can't imagine. You can ask me anything, I'll answer it if I can."

Severus started with something simple. "How long will I be this exhausted?"

Fred sipped his tea then answered, "You've got a good week or so of that. Eating helps. And don't tell mum, but lots of Pepperup potion helps, too. I can bring you some if you like."

Severus nodded. He ate quietly for a moment before asking, "Do you know why we in particular were sent back?"

Fred shook his head. "No, sorry. I'd like to know the answer to that myself. But in the meantime I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth if you know what I mean."

"The Unspeakable who found me said something about the Battle of Hogwarts and the Dark L… his final death causing some sort of magical instability in the world and that the Veil was trying to fix it but he wouldn't explain further."

"I hadn't heard that before but it makes sense. The amount of magic used at Hogwarts was enormous, you can't even begin to imagine. It wouldn't surprise me that it affected things. More tea?"

"Please," Severus replied.

Fred stood and refilled the kettle and placed it on the stove. While he fiddled with this, his back to Severus, he said quietly, "We say his name now, Voldemort's I mean. It has no power any more it's just a name."

Severus swallowed hard. He had noticed that people were using it freely but he was most uncomfortable even contemplating doing it himself. Fred turned around to see his reaction and he replied, "I don't think I can do that right now. Perhaps in the future, though, after I've had some time."

Fred nodded. "Just so you know."

The kettle whistled and more tea was poured as they sat across from one another. Severus finished his breakfast while Fred returned to the Daily Prophet. Severus' thoughts were swirling.

"So, let me ask you something," Fred said, breaking Severus out of his reverie.

"Alright."

"Professor Snape, I mean the older you, was the best Potions Master in the country, just how young did you start being that good?"

Severus blinked, not at all expecting that question and totally shocked that the older him was openly regarded as such an esteemed potioneer. With a more than a hint of pride he replied, "I could have passed my potions' NEWT my fourth year."

"Before your OWLs even?" Fred asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Blimey. I knew you… the older you was smart but I had no idea."

"It… comes easily to me."

"So is that what you're going to do then, after Hogwarts I mean? Get your Mastery and brew somewhere?"

"Perhaps. I do not yet know."

Fred nodded at him but Severus could see the wheels spinning behind his eyes. He wondered what that was about.

"George and I learned a lot in his class. We weren't his best students, of course, but we paid attention when it was important."

"I cannot picture myself a teacher."

"Honestly? I don't think he enjoyed it much."

Severus nodded absently. It was so incredibly odd to hear about pieces of a life that was his… but not.

An owl appeared at the window and Fred stood to see what the bird had to deliver. He took the envelope and gave the owl a treat, sending it off. He glanced at the envelope and stepped over to the table to hand it to Severus. "It's for you, mate."

Severus took the envelope with a questioning eyebrow, there were few people who knew he was alive. A glance at the Ministry seal on the envelope answered the question of at least where the sender was from.

He opened it and pulled out a crispy folded letter. He quickly read the contents and let the letter drop to the table as he sat back in his chair a little in shock.

"Everything alright?" Fred asked with what Severus felt was genuine concern.

He nodded. "The Ministry and the Unspeakables have certified that while I am indeed Severus Snape that I will be hereby known as Severus Snape, the second officially on paper to avoid confusion. It also says that I am legally entitled to all assets and property held by my older self and that I am to see the Head Goblin at Gringotts for an accounting of it all the first of June."

Fred grinned. "Well, that's not bad news and they got you sorted right quick. My coming back was a bit of a legal nightmare with the Ministry being in total chaos in the weeks following the Battle at Hogwarts. Do you have any experience dealing with the goblins at Gringotts?"

Severus shook his head. What little money he had earned here and there wasn't nearly enough to warrant a vault of his own and had instead been kept safely hidden and charm-protected in his school trunk.

"George and I do and we're on pretty good terms with them because of the business so I could go with you if you like. Or I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind."

"You would go with me?" Severus asked, surprised at the friendly offer. Was the entire Weasley family going to embrace him so warmly?

"Of course. Wouldn't have offered otherwise."

"Thank you."

"I've got some suppliers I need to chat with over the Floo so I'll leave you to your own devices for a while," Fred said and stood to leave the table.

Severus nodded then finished his food. When he was done he stood and brought his plate to the sink. He washed it by hand, his thoughts on his conversation with Fred. He wasn't used to people offering to help him, especially without expecting or demanding something in return. He wondered if this was how things between friends was supposed to work? And was that what the Weasleys were offering him, friendship? He had only ever had one friend before, one he had lost because of his wounded pride and hasty words. He had not been a good friend then and wasn't exactly sure how to be one now.

His brow furrowed as he picked up a dish towel to dry his now clean plate. Lily. He had been horrible to her and now she was gone and he could never make amends. The pain of that made his chest tighten and his eyes prickle, his grief threatening to claw its way out of him. But while Lily's death tore into his very soul with anguish, she was not the only one gone, in fact, most everyone he knew was either dead or in Azkaban. And now he found himself having to try and fit himself into this world that was so very different from what he knew. It was an overwhelming task. Exhausting.

Severus left the clean plate and fork on the table, not feeling comfortable enough to poke around the cupboards to find where they belonged. He heard Fred's deep voice arguing prices with his vendor over the Floo followed by laughter.

He stepped over to the kitchen door and stood in the warm sunshine as he looked out.


"Severus," a gentle voice said.

"Severus," she repeated a bit louder when he didn't rouse at first.

He opened his eyes slowly to see Lily standing there, her back to the sun blocking it from his face. No. Wait. Not Lily. Ginny.

After breakfast he had taken a book from the shelf in the living room with Fred's blessing and gone outside to read in the fresh air. Eventually his damnable tiredness took over and he fell asleep sitting up with his back against the broom shed.

He sat up straighter and rubbed his face to wake himself up.

Ginny plunked down next to him in the sunshine, her back also to the broom shed. He looked over and she had her eyes closed, her chin lifted offering her face to the late afternoon sun. He stared for a moment at this girl who was not Lily. He allowed himself to really look at her and found that she was, quite simply, beautiful. Her nose was elegant in its profile and sprinkled with freckles. Her cheeks were delicately shaped and held yet more freckles along with a healthy sort of blush. Her hair shone like fire in the sun beams. She was the type of witch who would have had suitors lining up to catch her eye from her first year at Hogwarts. He was sure that she must have a boyfriend or an intended. Girls who looked like her, like Lily, did not stay unattached very long in his experience.

Without opening her eyes or turning her head Ginny asked lightly, "You thought I was Lily again, didn't you?"

Severus felt a little flush crawl up his neck and tinge his ears. He focused his attention on the book in his lap, embarrassed, but answered softly, "Yes. For a moment."

Without opening her eyes she replied, "It's alright, you know," then she turned her head towards him and opened her eyes. He felt them boring into him and he finally turned to meet her gaze. Softly, with more compassion than anyone had ever shown him, even Lily, she said, "I know how important she is to you. I am so sorry for your loss."

He had to look away, he just couldn't bear it any longer, but when he did, his vision was blurry with unshed tears of grief. His eyes finally welled enough that the tears streamed down his face. He clenched his jaw, refusing to give into the sobs that wanted to wrack his body. Through the haze of his sorrow he felt a hand slip into his and squeeze tightly. He didn't look at her, couldn't look at her, didn't want her to see him like this. But in the end, he couldn't make himself pull his hand away either, couldn't make himself stand and run away, couldn't make himself hide, instead, he squeezed back and held on tightly as he let the waves of his grief wash over him.


Ginny had never wanted to hug someone as much as she did Severus in that moment. But she didn't. He was still such an unknown and she was unsure as to how such a gesture would be received. But she had to do something, so she slipped her hand into his to hold it tightly and didn't let go as he vented some of his grief for the girl he had loved since childhood. It mattered not that she had, in fact, died almost twenty years ago, to Severus it was if it happened yesterday, his grief jagged and new.

Ginny had been privy to the memories that Professor Snape had shared with Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts. She knew that his love for Lily had fueled his efforts to protect Harry and defeat Voldemort. But knowing about Professor Snape's love for Lily along with the actions he took in his grief for her and holding the hand of his younger self as his heart broke and he silently cried for her were two vastly different things.

There was no way for her to make this better or easier for Severus.

But she could hold his hand. So she did.


Dinner that evening was another quiet affair with just the four of them, for which, given his raw emotional state, Severus was most glad.

Molly had made a rich chicken stew chuck full of fresh vegetables and potatoes. Another loaf of warm bread and tasty lemon cake for dessert rounded out the meal. Severus' appetite was in no way diminished despite his melancholy mood and he ate two large bowls of stew and a big chunk of cake. Then, like clockwork, as they had the night before, his eyelids grew heavy and his exhaustion crept back in.

And then, in another moment of repetition, Molly sent him off to bed with a smile.

He washed his face and brushed his teeth in the upstairs bathroom before heading for his bedroom, thinking about the conversation from dinner. Arthur had told him that someone from the Ministry would be stopping by tomorrow with his wand, or at least the wand that had been on his older self's person at the time of his death. This he was most looking forward to, he felt a bit naked and vulnerable without a wand regardless as to how safe he felt at the Weasley home or how practiced he was at wandless defensive magic.

He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. As he closed his eyes he let his thoughts drift. He was a bit surprised when they seemed to settle on Ginny. He could not, for the life of him, figure her out.

He couldn't help but compare her to Lily, the two had similar looks and charismatic personalities, but Ginny was different as well, unique in her own way, same as Lily. They were not the same person, not exchangeable for one another in any away. He found himself drawn to Ginny, same as he had been to Lily all those years ago as they played by the river.

It was odd, really, he couldn't remember the last time a young witch as beautiful as Ginny had looked at him with anything other than disgust. He knew he was wholly unattractive, ugly even to put a finer point on it. He had no doubts that if he hadn't met Lily when they were children that she, too, wouldn't have given him the time of day at Hogwarts. It was a painful truth that Potter and Black had sneered at him often. But here, in this place and time, was Ginny. She hadn't known him as a child, quite the opposite really as she knew him only as her older surly potions professor and later Death Eater headmaster. Yet she smiled at him with genuine warmth. And she had offered him comfort and the solace of not being alone with his grief. She had willingly spent time with him these past two days without seeking any sort of recompense or making him feel inferior or unwelcome. Nor did she hesitate to actually touch him, something none of the girls of his acquaintance were wont to do.

She was a puzzlement.

As he drifted off to sleep the image of her sitting in the warm sun with her eyes closed and looking completely at peace filled his mind. He counted twenty-seven freckles before sleep claimed him.

tbc...


Author's Note: To address some emails and messages I've received, this story has not been abandoned. I do not write stories beginning to end, instead I write scenes as I get inspired, so my updates will not be on any sort of timetable. Thank you all for the positive response to this story! -CJ aka WritinginCT