My World

5th of April, 1995.

Double potions was the first class of the day on Wednesdays. Harry was standing outside the classroom waiting for Snape with Neville, Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindor fourth-year students. The Slytherins were standing a little further away. They had been rather quiet lately for some reason. Maybe it was Harry's pushback in the newspaper or his behaviour after that?

They walked into the classroom once Snape opened the door and sat down. Harry sat next to Neville and Hermione had paired up with Seamus for the day. They were going to try to avoid explosions.

Harry set all his equipment in order and looked up at the Professor. He blinked once as the intrusion came.

Severus looked around. It was dark. Not pitch black but really dark. Something that looked like stars in the night sky twinkled at him from above. They didn't look like any stars Severus had ever seen. He turned around as a strange buzzing sound reached his ears. Some kind of giant insect appeared and dove down towards him. Severus went for his wand but couldn't find it. He dodged as the insect attacked and he started running. Giant mushrooms lit his way. In the distance, he could hear someone singing faintly. It was a woman. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Severus ran over a hill. He saw a small stone building with smoke rising from it. Maybe there was someone there he could talk to. He needed to find out what was going on.

A young man with eyes the colour of amber and shoulder-length brown hair was cooking something over an open fire. As Severus approached, he drew a sword and said something in a langue Severus did not understand.

"Do you speak English?" Severus asked.

"I do," the young man said. "I'm surprised to see anyone who isn't a slave down here. Are you a daring adventurer or a mage from the College?"

"I'm a professor at Hogwarts," Severus said.

The young man gave him a strange look. "Hogs seldom have warts," he said. "I am Kato. I fall in the category of daring adventurer I think. Though my darling Rhavaniel runs the College so maybe I'm a mage. Who knows? What brings you down here?"

"I do not know," Severus said. As he said that, he realised how true it was. He had no idea why he was down there or where he was even. "What is this place?" he asked.

"Blackreach," Kato said. "Once the home of the Dwemer, but they left a long time ago. Now only Falmer live here with their slaves and pet chaurus."

Severus nodded slowly. He had no idea what Kato was talking about and it frustrated him.

"Have a seat, food is almost done," Kato said. "I can lead you out of here after that if you would like."

Severus nodded. "That would be appreciated," he said. He sat down by the fire, and a plate was placed in his hands. He ate, but he couldn't really taste anything. Something about this whole situation was strange to him. He tried to remember what he had been doing that day, but he couldn't quite grasp it. He was sure he had gone to bed in his room at Hogwarts, and now he was somewhere completely different. Kato cleaned up after the meal and they headed over to a strange building that looked vaguely familiar to him. They walked through a set of heavy golden doors and stepped onto some kind of elevator. Kato pulled a heavy lever and they started moving up.

It snowed in the mountains.

Severus pulled his cloak closer to himself. He could hear the voice better now. Though, it was distorted in the wind.

"Down there lies Whiterun," Kato said as he pointed towards a city in the middle of a sea of green grass. "Katla the Dragon Queen and her husband rule Skyrim from there." He walked down towards a path. "Where do you wish to go?" he asked.

Severus wasn't sure what to answer. He wanted to find the owner of the voice he kept hearing, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell this stranger that. The voice seemed to come from that city though so he said he wanted to go in that direction. He was led down the mountain. They were attacked by bandits that Kato killed or scared off using his sword and magic that Severus had never experienced before.

"What is your name stranger?" Kato asked.

"Severus Snape," Severus said.

"Well, Severus," Kato said. "Welcome to Whiterun Hold. The centre of Skyrim, the Throat of the World. I was thinking we could ride from here. Do you know how to ride Severus?"

"I do," Severus said. It was not a skill he had used often, but the Malfoys kept horses and he had ridden with Lucius once or twice. Two beautiful horses came galloping towards them. One as black as night and the other as white as the snow on the mountain.

"This is Vulon and Odsot," Kato said. "They will carry us wherever we need to go." He climbed up on Odsot's back and waited for Severus to join him. "Show the way," he said.

Severus was glad that they had horses. Whiterun Hold was bigger than he had first thought. It became easier to navigate once they reached the road, but Severus was having some trouble telling from where the voice came. They passed by a burnt-down guard tower.

"What happened here?" Severus asked.

"A dragon attacked," Kato said. "We have been at war so we haven't had time to fix it."

Severus' eyes narrowed. Kato was speaking as if he was involved with the government in some way. He didn't point it out, but he would keep that in mind. They reached a river and he followed it west. "This road leads first to Riverwood and later to Helgen. There it splits and can take you either to Ivarstead and Riften or to Falkreath," Kato said. "Keep your eyes and ears open. There are a lot of wolves around here."

Severus nodded. They passed through the town of Riverwood. No one seemed to care much about two men riding through. People looked happy and one or two greeted them as they passed. Severus noticed how no one seemed to pay much attention to Kato either even though the way he had spoken earlier sounded like he was important. "You said there was a war?" Severus asked.

"Yes, a lot of good people died, but we couldn't just stand back. The Thalmor wanted to purge Tamriel of all non-elves or at the very least enslave us. We couldn't let that happen. Everyone deserves to be free from the moment they are born 'til the day they die," Kato said. "So we gathered our armies and we fought the Thalmor. We won, but it cost us." He sighed. "If it hadn't been for Queen Katla all would have been lost. She and her brother, the Dragon Prince of Skyrim, were essential in the fight."

Severus nodded slowly. He pulled at the reins of his horse and looked past a small house next to the road. "Is there anything up there?" he asked.

"Lakeview Manor," Kato said. "Some say the Queen lived there before she became the Queen."

Severus turned Vulon around and headed up towards the house that eventually became visible. He made his way around it until he saw a woman sitting in a rocking chair with a small bundle in her arms. Her hair was red and when she looked up he could see her green eyes.

"Lily," Severus almost whispered. Somewhere in the back of his mind, something was trying to tell him that this wasn't possible. This couldn't be Lily because Lily was dead. Severus didn't listen to the voice though. He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Lily," he said. He looked down at the boy in her arms. Messy black hair rested over the same type of green eyes that Lily had. The baby giggled and reached out for Severus.

"I hope you are doing alright, Severus," Lily said.

"I doing fine," Severus said.

"I forgive you," Lily said. She smiled softly at him. "I forgive you."

Severus wasn't entirely certain why he was crying but he was. He hugged her again. Then he heard a horrifying noise. He turned around and a giant of a man was making his way through the forest towards them.

"We better get out of here," Kato said as he rounded the corner of the building. "Giants are not easy to fight and magic works a little wonky against them."

Severus helped Lily up on Vulon's back before he mounted them himself. He took off after Kato as quickly as he could. "Will it follow us?" he asked as he caught up with Kato.

"Hopefully not," Kato said. "It will probably attack the house. Giants aren't that smart." He looked at Lily. "Did you have to bring her?" he asked.

"Yes," Severus said almost angrily. "What would you have me do? Just leave her there?"

Kato didn't answer, he simply rode on ahead. He disappeared beyond a bend in the road flanked by trees and when Severus reached it he was gone. He kept going while thinking that Kato was probably just a little further up ahead. There were many bends and the forest was thick. He reached a fork in the road and looked down at the ground. There were fresh hoof prints going to the left so he followed them. The ground gave way underneath Vulon and Severus wrapped his arms around Lily and her baby. It was dark when they finally stopped tumbling. The horse was gone.

As Severus led them along the path forward, he could see burial chambers ahead. They were in a tomb. He wrapped an arm around Lily. "Where is James?" he asked.

"Gone," Lily said softly.

"I'm sorry," Severus said.

"You didn't like him, Severus," Lily pointed out.

"That does not mean I wanted him dead," Severus said.

"I see."

There was silence between them as they walked. They entered a big room with a coffin in the centre of a big dais. Severus tried to lead them around unnoticed to no avail. The lid of the coffin slid off and a lich rose from within it.

"Step aside," it said hollowly. "The child will bring me life. Step aside."

"Never," Lily said. She wrapped her arms tightly around the buddle she held.

Severus stepped up in front of her. He was not about to let this monster of a man near Lily.

"What will you do little man?" the lich asked. "You do not even have a weapon to defend yourself with."

"I will not let you lay a finger on them," Severus said. He didn't move as the lich drew closer. He was not about to let Lily die. Then before he could tell her to run, something happened behind the lich. A sword jutted out through his chest and Kato appeared as it collapsed to the ground. "I noticed that you took a wrong turn," he said. "It is a good thing for you that these places always seem to have a shortcut built in." He headed over to a set of stairs. "This way," he said.

Severus took Lily's hand and followed. "Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it," Kato said. "Rhavaniel keeps telling me I have a problem with always needing to be the hero. It will be easier on my ears if you just don't talk about this one."

Severus couldn't help himself. He laughed.

Kato smiled. It didn't take them much longer to reach the open air again. They had only walked a short while when men attacked them. Kato did his best to fend them off and Severus grabbed a sword from one of them. "Where is Lily!?" he exclaimed once the men lay dead. He looked around. Had they taken the child too or just Lily? He couldn't find anything. He looked back at Kato. Kato's eyes were closed and he was muttering something under his breath. "We have to save Lily," Severus said. "Kato!"'

"Yes, I get it," Kato said. "Just please let me do this unless you know where to look for her."

Severus stepped back. "I'm sorry," he apologised. He hadn't known that Kato was already working on a way to find her.

A blue-misted line of magic showed up on the ground. It slithered along the hills and disappeared in the distance. The two men followed it as quickly as they could. They had to find Lily before something happened.

They reached a camp.

"Lily is being held near the top of that fortress," Kato said. He looked at all the people between them and her. "I can distract them to allow you safe passage," he told Severus. "It is the fastest way and we don't know what they are doing to her."

They heard a shrill scream and Severus stood up. "That was Lily," he said.

"Go! I will draw those idiots down there to me," Kato said. He ran down the hill and shouted something at the people there. Severus waited just long enough for everyone to be following Kato before he made his way up to the fortress. He got inside and climbed the stairs quickly. He opened the door at the top of the tower and stepped outside. Lily was lying on the ground. She was breathing heavily and she was bleeding but not that badly. Severus rushed up to her and checked her over quickly before looking around.

The only other person up there was another woman. She was holding Lily's baby in her arms. "There is so much potential in this one," she said. She looked Severus straight in the eyes. "If you will let me keep him I promise she will not remember him." She pointed at Lily. "You can have her all to yourself. His child will not defile your relationship, and the boy will grow up happy. Loved."

"Give him back," Severus said.

"Truly. Is that what you want?" the woman asked.

"Give him back," Severus said.

"Oh, my dear. I do not think so," the woman said.

Severus rushed forward. He grabbed the baby from her and pushed her off the tower. He backed up and walked back to Lily. He helped her up and gave her the baby.

Kato made it up to them. "Well, I guess that was an interesting outcome," he said. "Are you done playing pretend now Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House?"

Severus froze. He hadn't said anything about that to Kato. Then he realised that before this mess had started he had just been about to start teaching a class. He had looked down at Mr Potter and he just knew the foolish boy was up to something. He preferred being aware of what Potter was up to. He didn't like being surprised. Then he had appeared in that place… Blackreach.

"I can see that you are getting it now," Kato said.

"This is all just a game," Severus spat. He looked at Lily and the pained expression on his face was heart-wrenching.

"No," Kato said. He walked forward slowly. "I pulled Lily from my memories. Everything that she has said is some variant of something that she has actually said. Finding those memories wasn't easy."

"You knew that I would invade your mind?" Severus said.

"You have done it before," Kato said.

"Why do you still look like that?" Severus asked.

"Like Kato you mean?" Kato shifted and turned into three different people. Young Harry, Real Harry and Kato.

"All three of these are me. Kato is a glamour you have heard of. He brought forward the Cure. Young Harry you teach every week. Then there is the real me," Harry said as he placed his hands on his chest. "This is the real me."

"Why did you do this?" Severus asked.

"To decide how much I can tell you," Harry said. "If I look at the adults around me. The people who knew me before things changed. You are one of the few I believe would be capable of accepting who I have become." He shrugged. "Now it is up to you," he said. "You can take the door forward to get the answers that you want or you can go back to your mind. The door back will always be there. To get the door forward I need to know what you want to know."

Severus was standing there. He was confused, irritated, angry and sad. He wanted to curse Harry, but it had been his choice to intrude on Harry's mind. He looked at the door back down the tower. He assumed that was the door back. "You said Lily was based on memories," he said.

"You want to see them?" Harry asked and Severus nodded. Harry summoned a door. "We are now moving from this world into memories. I do not know if you can tell the difference, but it would be interesting to know if you could."

Severus nodded. He walked forward and opened the door. He stepped into a cosy living room. It was decorated in warm colours and a fire burned in the fireplace. Lily was rocking little Harry back and forth. She sighed.

"I wonder how Severus is doing?" Lily said.

"Why?" James asked. He was sitting on the sofa repairing something.

"I wish I had forgiven him when I had the chance," Lily said. "Maybe things would be different now if I had."

"He doesn't deserve your forgiveness, Lily," James said.

"I think you are a bit harsh James," Lily said. "Severus isn't a bad person."

"Oh really," James said. "He was knee-deep in dark arts from the start."

"Have you ever considered the fact that it might be your fault?" Lily asked.

That caused James to pause. He sat there quietly for a good long while. "I guess we could have not targeted him so much," he said quietly.

The memory changed. It was a different day. There were Christmas decorations.

"I wish your uncle Severus could be here with us, Harry," Lily told little baby Harry. "He is a good man, I know it." She sighed. "He's just gone astray. We'll have to help him won't we Harry."

Baby Harry gurgled.

Lily laughed and looked out the window. "I'm so sorry Severus," she said softly. "I hope you are doing alright. I miss you. I miss my best friend." She looked back down at her son and played with Harry.

Lily and baby Harry faded out of the memory.

Severus looked over at Harry. "Thank you," he said simply.

Harry bowed his head. "It was the least I could do," he said. "Now do you wish to go back or learn more?"

Severus looked at the front door and then back at Harry. "I want to know how you came to suddenly be quite a few years older," he said.

Harry smiled. "I guess we are starting at the beginning then," he said. "I will warn you. People will not speak English. You will probably not be able to understand what they are saying. I will not translate everything, but I will run commentary."

"Good enough I guess," Severus said. He walked up to the door that appeared in front of him and opened it. He stepped through. He recognised the grounds at Hogwarts. He couldn't see Harry, but he could see Hagrid. He figured the half-giant of a man would be involved. He was led around the forest to the dragons. Harry appeared in front of a dragon and it roared at him. Everything went black.

"So that dragon basically told me that I was being sent somewhere to learn really important things," Harry said. "I then met Katla."

"Queen Katla," Severus said.

"She wasn't the Queen yet," Harry said.

Severus looked at Katla. She was a very formidable woman. She was almost as tall as him and her shoulders were wider than his. The other person looked like a humanoid cat.

"That is Rashall. A thief and an assassin," Harry said. "He is a scoundrel with a heart of gold. He would give you a run for your money. He has a bad temper and he is a worse teacher than you have ever been, insults included."

Harry brought Severus through the fall of Alduin and the start of the war against the Thalmor.

"...and then I went to the College," Harry said. "There I met Rhavaniel."

Severus noticed how Harry basically turned away from the memory at that as he kept explaining what had happened. He understood that Harry didn't need to look at the memory to know what had happened, but he found the behaviour strange until Harry and Rhavaniel's relationship turned romantic. He wondered what had happened to cause that reaction.

They neutralized the Eye of Magnus and then they went to join the war. At first, Severus was certain Rhavaniel must have died during the war but she didn't. He watched Harry sending people to their deaths with a stony expression. Rhavaniel returned and she was fine. Then it hit him. Harry had to return to Earth. Returning meant leaving her behind. He had lost her forever.

Severus had lost Lily forever, but at least now he knew that Lily had forgiven him. "I don't know what you expect now," he said.

"Nothing really," Harry said. "I'm hoping that one day we can work together to bring down the Dark Lord."

Severus rubbed his face. All of this, just because he couldn't stay out of Potter's head. He only had himself to blame. "I will have to think about this," he said.

"That's fine," Harry said. "Now as you go back to your own mind just glare at me and deduct points or give me a detention or something. I will deal with the possibly awkward silence."

Severus did exactly that and it went off without a hitch. No one but Harry knew what had happened.