"Half an hour!?" she exclaimed "I have been here for two months!"

Chapter 11:

". . . What?" he almost snorted but managed to stop himself.

"I said I've been here for two months"

"Nonsense" Severus frowned. What was she talking about? That was impossible. He half expected her to crack a smile and yell 'Aprils-fools!' but instead she looked upset at his reaction.

"I am not kidding Snape!" she cried. "Will you stop fooling around! Look, I know you might not have missed me in that period but you must have noticed I was gone? Did Molly never tell you where I was? I thought I was stuck here for the rest of my life. Please, take this seriously!"

"You are not lying . . ."

"Of course I am not lying, you twat! Why would I be lying about something like that!"

"Because you haven't been gone for more than half an hour, that's why!"

Now she looked angry. And while she stepped away from him, her eyes welled up with tears. "How can you pretend you didn't notice after two months? You're such a bastard" She wiped her eyes angrily. Severus was at loss. She wasn't lying. The wardrobe had not simply transported him to another place. It had transported him in time as well. And it appeared to be far back in time. Eighter they were in a different world where time was different somehow, or perhaps the connection between the door and the timeline was faulty, so it jumped a few months ahead while only a few minutes had passed in their own time? Or most likely, Tonks had only dreamt that two months had passed. Eighter way, she really believed she had been waiting for him for two months and now she thought he was having a laugh at her expense by pretending he had never noticed she was gone. She really did believe he was a bastard.

"Tonks–"

"No, I can't believe this. I never cry in front of people Snape. I hate crying in front of people and here you bloody well made me do just that!"

"Will you shut up!?" exclaimed Severus suddenly and put his hands on her shoulders to make her look at him (much like she had done to him the first time they switched). "I am not joking. I only realised you were gone a few minutes ago and I went straight down to the wardrobe. Then I appeared here. Look, it is not raining here but it was pouring down outside of Grimmauld place. Time must have passed faster for you." He released her while she studied him. He hoped she would believe him. He didn't want her to think of him as a bastard. At least not any more than she already did. She studied him without a word, but after a long while she nodded and wiped her eyes again.

"Good, now will you please explain to me what is going on?"

She sniffled and nodded again but didn't seem to want to talk before she had calmed herself down.

Severus wanted to run away. He hated people crying. He never knew what to do with them ". . . will you stop that?" he gestured a bit awkwardly to her face "It's fine now . . ."

She gave a little laugh at his awkwardness and dried her face again with her palms. "I'm sorry, it's just that I've felt so lost these few months. I shouldn't really take it out on you. I just . . . Oh merlin, I am just so glad to see you" she said with a shaky voice. Then she wrapped her arms around his chest again in another hug.

"Err . . . okay . . ." Severus automatically held his arms away from her, as if she had some sort of deadly disease. He had to chastise himself for his behaviour. She was only a woman for Merlins sake, not some sort of predator trying to devour his lifeforce.

"I'm sorry I called you a bastard" she said into his chest.

He hesitated for a moment in confusion. She just apologised for calling him a bastard . . . When did he really deserve that? He had been a bastard to her ever since they met and she still treated him nicely. She always did, no matter how little he deserved it. "You need not apologise" he said and felt a pit of regret form in his stomach for his actions these past few weeks. But he didn't want to dwell on it so he looked around at the little village to distract himself "What is this place anyways?"

Still sniffling she pulled away from him and drew her arm in a large gesture to indicate the village "This is the little town of Watercrest. We are currently in medieval England somewhere during the fourteen hundreds. The wardrobe holds some kind of portal to the medieval times. The door opens to a field about twenty minutes away from here."

"That is . . . insane"

"I know, I thought so too but I have confirmed it already. I apparated to London when I first got here and it is no more than a medieval city. I also went to check other places. It's all the same. This really is medieval England. No trick of the eye."

"How is that possible? How is a portal like that supposed to exist? No magic can send you several hundred years back in time. How–?"

"I don't know Severus. I just went through the door. I don't know how it works."

Severus rolled his eyes. He reminded himself she wasn't Dumbledore. She couldn't answer any of his questions. What was the use of her then? "How did you get stuck here anyways? Why didn't you go back through the door?" he asked instead.

"Because it closed behind me and disappeared!"

When she said this, Severus looked at her in alarm. The door disappeared when it closed!? And she had just left it!? She must have seen his alarm because she continued "No, I didn't let it close this time. I jammed something in between. And no, I couldn't stay with it to make sure it stayed open. I had to come and get you!"

Severus nodded in understanding. Perhaps he should thank her for that? Naah . . . "We must go back right now. It should not stay open for very long in case someone meddles with it. We may examine the wardrobe when we are safely back in Grimmauld place."

She hesitated for a second "I have some news that might make us want to stay for a while longer."

Did she not know anything? Was she seriously so slow minded she didn't know what a bad idea that was? "That is something we should avoid under any circumstance. Do you not understand? Staying here could have some fatal consequences for the timeline."

"Ahm . . . well I have something to tell you. But we need a more private place to speak. We should definitely go back to the door. We can talk there without being overheard. But there is one thing I must do first." She put a hand on his shoulder (which felt strangely familiar after her rib crushing) "Wait here, and . . . please don't go anywhere" she said with a pleading look. She spoke as if she was afraid he would run away at the closest opportunity and leave her alone again.

"I won't" he said hesitatingly, thinking it was best to keep her from crying again.

She smiled and disappeared back into the house. He looked after her in confusion, wondering what she was up to. She came out ten minutes later with a stout man behind her. She carried a small backpack on her shoulder and she had put a glamour on herself to hide her jeans. Severus could still see what she was wearing, but he knew anyone else would see whatever they expected to see. That was how a glamour worked.

The man she brought with her was smiling from ear to ear "Dorian! You never told me your wife was so beautiful!" He took Severus's hand and shook it vigorously.

Severus was speechless.

His wife?

Tonks laughed in a very girly (and very un-Tonksy) way and said; "Oh, Jonathan, you flatter me." Then she took Severus's hand and leaned towards him a bit while she fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly "Dorian and I will travel northwards and find somewhere to settle down. My travel company will come shortly so we thought we would go and meet it."

"Then I wish you luck on your journey and I hope you have a happy life" said Jonathan and patted Severus on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Jonathan," said Severus and played along without revealing he knew absolutely nothing about this man.

"Yes, thank you Jonathan. For everything" said Tonks. Jonathan took her hand again and kissed it for a second time before he gave Severus a brief and robust hug. All this sudden hugging freaked him out. He couldn't even remember the last time he hugged someone. "Don't forget you are always welcome here if you should ever find yourselves on this road again. Don't forget to come and visit me and Clara soon."

"Of course, any time" said Severus. Then he grabbed Tonkses hand before she could "Well, we should get going. Farewell Jonathan and say goodbye to Clara for us will you?"

Tonks squeezed his hand back in gratitude before she curtsied to the man "Nice to meet you Jonathan."

Jonathan bowed. Then he gave Severus a wink before he went into the house. Tonks pulled him along the village road towards where she had come from. Then she gave him a friendly pat on the arm "Wow, I didn't know you were this good with improvising. You had no idea who Jonathan was and yet you totally nailed it."

"How do you think I have been surviving as a spy for all these years?" He didn't bother to ponder over her use of the expression 'nailed it'. This was not the type of situation he would use that for. Instead he asked; "Dorian? As in Dorian Grey?" he couldn't help feeling insulted by that reference.

Tonks didn't seem aware of what the choice of name implicated. Instead she shrugged and said; "It was the first name I came up with. I Just finished the book a few weeks ago."

"You could have just used your own name" he informed "nobody knows you after all."

She rolled her eyes "Do you think I- I mean, do you think you look like a Nymphadora Tonks? It doesn't exactly suit you. And Dorian sounds a bit like Dora, which is what my friends call me. Besides, I didn't want everyone to run around calling me 'Snape'. I'd go bonkers."

Severus could see her point, even though he still didn't like the name. Instead he changed the topic again; "I assume your friend back there, Jonathan, owned the house you were living in?"

"Yes. He is a farmer, and he owns a few of the acres outside of town. He let me stay in his house for free in exchange for help on the fields."

"That is what you have been doing these months? Harvesting wheat?" he said curiously.

"Yep, pretty much" she said with a smile and studied his face for any expression. "It's hard work, but it is surprisingly social, and people have been very welcoming, so I've been enjoying myself. Considering my . . . predicament. You might feel a bit sore in your back, but at least your arms are stronger."

He nodded. It was true, his back was sore. But generally, he felt better than he had done in a long time. She continued; "But I am glad I came here as a man though. A man travelling alone looking for work is quite common, but had I come here alone as a woman I might have been branded as a witch or a gypsy and burned at the stakes. Not that I would have been in any danger but I wanted to stay peacefully in this town since it is so close to the door in case someone came looking for me. Thank merlin for that, eh?"

"Like your 'wife' for instance?"

She laughed "Oh, your expression when Jonathan said that. It was priceless! You see I had two families who wanted me to marry their daughters, so I told everyone I had a wife somewhere that was coming to live with me when she finished with her family affairs." Severus frowned again. Okay, he could understand that. That way she had a good excuse to why she came alone to the village, but he could not for the life of him understand how two families wanted her to marry their daughters. She had been in his body for the last two months after all. He was not handsome enough for people to want him as a son in law. But, he thought, it was probably her charm that made her attractive with the ladies. An attribute he himself didn't have.

And . . . why was she still holding his hand? He had expected her to let go the instant they got out of sight from the townspeople . . . but she didn't. Instead she seemed genuinely unwilling to let go while she led him out of town and up a hill. It was again as if she was afraid he'd disappear in thin air unless she held him in place. He was unsure if he should let her hold on in favour of her comfort or to let go in favour of his own. But in the end he couldn't stand it anymore and pulled away.

He felt incredibly awkward about that little situation. He never touched anyone . . . ever . . . and here she was holding his hand as if it was something they did every day. She gave him a curious look before she turned and continued without comment.

They walked quickly. Tonks led him through a forest on a pathway that went continuously uphill for twenty minutes before they finally came out on a flower field in the middle of a clearing. Severus could see the wardrobe door about a hundred feet in front of them in the middle of the field. There was no wardrobe around it, only the door hovering a few inches above ground. The clearing was surrounded by trees on all sides. "Here we go" said Tonks and led him to a tree at the outskirt of the field, sat herself down in the grass and beckoned him to sit next to her. He did and she cast a muffiliato charm and a concealment charm around them.

"There" she began "now we can talk without being overheard." She settled her back against the tree trunk. It was a position she seemed familiar with.

"I assume you have been spending a lot of time in this place" said Severus and indicated his head towards the field.

"Yes, well as much as I could. At first I came here every evening to see if the door would show up. And I like this place. I like to come here when I want to be alone. I suppose I've spent a bit too much time here, but I've been so desperate to see someone from my own time I- it's been bordering to frenzy at times."

Her confession discomforted him. It struck him how easily she could talk about her distress with a man she hardly knew. As if he wanted to know! He didn't want to hear any more of it so he tried to steer the wheel to something he understood; "Has it occurred to you this predicament of yours was your own fault? You went down there alone! Perhaps if you hadn't been so reckless-"

Her jawmuscles tightened when she turned to glare at him "Don't you think I know that?" she said coldly. He evaded her eyes. 'Shit' he thought, that was probably the wrong thing to say. Of course it was true, but it was foolish to get on her bad side when she had important information to convey.

They sat there in awkward silence for a minute before Tonks spoke again. "But anyways, I need to tell you everything I learned while I stayed here." Her tone was light, as if their awkwardness had never occurred.

Severus studied her curiously when she drew a breath "I think I have found the cure to our problem."

He straightened in interest "How?"

"Remember Albus told us The Well of Lives was destroyed during the medieval times? Well a few weeks ago, I heard that The Well might still be around. We don't need to count on Amaryllis to find a cure for us, we could go straight to the source ourselves."

Severus stared at her in astonishment. The idea was very intriguing. If what she said was true and the Well was still around . . . then they could be cured. Perhaps he would not have to live as a woman for the rest of his life. And Tonks would be free from the curse of living in his body forever. Perhaps he would not have ruined her life after all? . . . But he was not an optimistic guy by nature and a tale like that was simply too good to be true. "How do we know its true? You say it might be around, but do you know for sure?"

Tonks shook her head with a smile as if she had expected his scepticism. "No" she said calmly "I base my knowledge completely on rumours and tales. Nobody I know has been to the well themselves."

"Then how do you know it is still around?" he said annoyed.

"I don't."

He held out his hands in exasperation "That is not enough, Tonks."

"Yes it is" she said optimistically. "We have a chance, no matter how small, to actually fix our problem."

"And if it is a wild goose chase?"

"Then at least we tried, right?"

Severus wanted it to be true. So much. But come on, what did she take him for? He crossed his arms "Supposed this well is there and actually exists. How far is it supposed to be?" he couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"It is a two-week journey from here . . . on horseback. I have no idea where it is, so we cannot apparate there . . ."

He groaned "And what about the wardrobe door? If we leave it now, it will disappear."

"Well, you see the appearance of the door is of course a legend in this town. As I have heard, the door appears every other full moon on the field on its own. Many has tried to enter it but it is impossible to open. Apparently, it only appears at any other time when someone enters from the other side. My theory is that we can open it from this side because we belong to the other side. If that makes sense. If we close it now and go to the place of the Well, all we have to do is wait until the next full moon."

"That is simply a theory. Based on a legend. Do you seriously want to risk your future on a legend? Have you seen the door appear yourself? Have you tried to open it from this side?"

"No, it didn't appear this full moon."

Severus had to close his eyes for patience "And what if it never shows up on its own? Or worse, what if it does, and it turns out we can never open it?"

"Then we're stuck here" she said frustratingly lightly.

"Merlin woman you cannot possibly want to risk our future on guesses and legends!" he exclaimed in frustration at her stupidity. Her optimism was painful. "Can you not see how much we would put at risk? If we get trapped here, we will be completely useless in the fight against the dark lord! Our efforts so far for the order will go to waste!" Severus also thought Dumbledore needed him as a spy and if he lost him . . . "That is not a risk I am willing to take" he said finally.

"Snape . . . Severus . . . Amaryllis will never find a cure for our condition. I am sorry but that is the truth." She pressed on further when Severus shook his head in disbelief "If we go back to Grimmauld place now we will eventually be stuck in each others body forever."

He evaded her eyes again. He knew that. Deep down. But he had spent the last few weeks hoping that Amaryllis and Dumbledore could in some miraculous way find a cure after all. It was difficult to let go. "What use is there to find the well if we get stuck in medieval England for the rest of our lives? We cannot trust the door to appear simply because we wish it. And what If you are wrong and the well is already destroyed?"

"Our fate is generally very unsure at the moment whether we chose to go or not, but I say we should give it a go. This is our chance to change our fate, but in order to do that we have to risk closing the door. Listen, we can make someone on the other side come and open the door for us. Then we can wait on the field until it appears."

Severus studied his shoes while he traced his eyebrow with his finger "We have to plan this properly."

"Yes, I know. I agree we should not risk closing the door before we have studied the wardrobe closer. Preferably with Dumbledores help. And we also need someone on the other side to open the door for us."

"But we just found out time goes slower over there. We do not know the time difference between here and there. What if it only takes whoever opens the door only five minutes but for us it takes months? What if an hour in their time takes us fifteen years? What then?"

"I know, I know but I think we need to do this. Besides, I don't see how bad it would be to be stuck here with you for fifteen years" she smiled at his befuddled frown "It could be worse." Yes indeed, she could have been stuck here with the Dark Lord but that was about the only situation that was worse. Her assertion made so little sense he exclaimed; "You are so frustrating, are you aware of that!?" To his great frustration she only smiled.

"So are you thinking about it?"

There was nothing he wanted more than go to the Well so why did he hesitate? Because of Dumbledore of course. Would it be worth it if they could never return to their own time? But he knew it was a risk he wanted to take. What if Dumbledore put the burden of spying on Tonks instead of him when it turned out their problem was permanent? He could not let that happen. Then he would have ruined her life forever. He hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "Fine! Fine. I want to do this. I don't want to be stuck as a woman for the rest of my life."

"I don't want to be stuck as a man for the rest of my life" said Tonks with a wide grin.

They decided they would go back through the door and contact Dumbledore before they made further plans on what to do. Then they would assess the possibility of being trapped against the value of going to the well. Dumbledore would definitely be the one to open the door, and he would need someone there with him to make sure he could fight off the obvious compulsion charm that was laid on it. Severus trusted few other people than Dumbledore to be able to do that.

Severus felt the sun hit his face when they entered the field. He rarely let himself feel optimistic. Bad things happened when he did that, but now he allowed himself for just a tiny bit. They might have a chance to find the cure. That was good.

But as they approached the door Severus noticed a shift in the wind. Something was wrong. He acted on instinct when he threw himself at Tonks and pulled them both to the ground. He was not a moment too soon. As they landed he heard something swish past above them and land a few feet away.

An arrow.