This story was written before the publication of Deathly Hallows, thus it doesn't follow some canon events.

This story is a translation of my own fanfic titled "Salvando a Ravenclaw". Please, forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes.

ooo

The eagle flew quickly across the blue sky. There was not a single cloud, and the animal stood out like a speck, sometimes gold, sometimes black, without anything hindering the majesty of its flight. She was the queen of the birds, and as such, she soared over her domains, with the sound of the wind singing in her ears.

But the eagle did not fly idle, since it had a mission to fulfill: she had to meet the badger, the lion and the snake next to the magical lake, where they had met since the beginning of time. There they had to carry out a mission to which they would dedicate their lives, and which would have an impact on future generations.

That's why her flight was so fast, since she wanted to arrive on time for such an important appointment.

Everything seemed to be going well, until suddenly, the sky darkened, and the eagle found herself surrounded by terrifying creatures that cooled the air around it as they approached her. The eagle felt her energies wane, and her previous joy suddenly disappeared, absorbed by the dementors.

The eagle plummeted, flapping her wings desperately, in a useless attempt to stay in the air, while those beings followed her. At the last moment, she avoided hitting the ground, and with a dangerous parabola she managed to enter the nearby forest, where the trees prevented the passage of the dementors.

However, her wings were too long to fly between the trees, and the eagle found herself in serious difficulty in moving forward. She perched on a branch, hoping that her pursuers would pass her by, and remained silent, turning her head from side to side, to flee if those shadows approached.

Then, a heavy net fell on her, knocking her to the ground and immobilizing her. The eagle struggled and screamed, but could not take flight. A hooded man approached her and watched her through the slits of his mask, smiling with satisfaction.

"I'm glad to finally meet you," he said. "My lady Rowena."

ooo

Severus woke up, staring into space and breathing heavily. His room, located in the dungeons, was completely dark, but without knowing why, Severus had the urgent need to turn on some light, to eliminate the feeling that he was being spied on.

When he realized that he was as alone as always, Severus tried to calm down, realizing that it was three in the morning, but he couldn't get the sensations that the nightmare had left him out of his head: helplessness, impotence, fear... however, he didn't remember exactly what he had dreamed about.

A shiver ran down his spine, and Severus suddenly had the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Confirmation of that feeling came when a phoenix-shaped patronus entered through his door and began to fly in circles around the small room.

Realizing that the headmaster urgently needed his help, Severus hurriedly dressed, grabbed a small bag containing a complete emergency kit of elemental potions, and ran towards Dumbledore's office.

Fifteen minutes later, Severus knocked on the door, wishing he were a little younger, exercised more, or just didn't have asthma. Dumbledore ushered him in immediately, and the potions professor could see that the headmaster looked terribly tired, as if he had not slept, and very worried.

The office was more disorganized than usual: books of all sizes and ages were scattered on the floor and on the tables, thrown in any way, as were hundreds of parchments, some old and others more recent.

"Is something wrong?" Severus asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

"Sit down, Severus, please," Dumbledore, despite the circumstances, he did not lose his good manners. "I fear that something terribly serious has happened that may endanger the current world as we know it," he sat down too, sighing with exhaustion. Severus did not reply, forgetting his usual cynicism, and listened attentively to the headmaster. Dumbledore ran a hand over his face, massaging the bridge of his nose. "There has been... a magical break in space-time," he said gravely. Severus looked at him confused.

"A what?" he finally asked.

"Sorry, I should explain this better," Dumbledore apologized. "The muggles have a theory that says that, under certain conditions, you can... open a kind of portal through space and time, making possible travel to the past and the future," he explained, although the true explanation was much more far-fetched and difficult to understand.

"And how does that affect us?" Severus asked, not understanding.

"Unfortunately, Voldemort has been investigating this theory, and has managed to... open a portal," Dumbledore explained, aware that this news was difficult to assimilate, even for himself.

"Do you mean... that he can travel to the future?" Severus avoided saying Voldemort's name. Dumbledore, who had expected the question, shook his head.

"Not to the future, because he does not have any temporal cord that unites him with that time, but he has been able to go to the past. Not himself, of course, but he has sent someone he trusts."

Instantly, questions flooded through Severus' mind. What was a temporal cord? How did Dumbledore know that the Dark Lord had really managed to travel through time? And what did he have to do with all that? However, his first question was not that.

"But... to what end?" Severus asked, trying to contain the avalanche of doubts.

"I'm not really sure, but I think he's trying to... change the history of Hogwarts," Dumbledore ventured, very slowly. "Or rather, he wants to prevent the school from being built."

Severus stood with his mouth open, slowly taking in the headmaster's words. Slowly, the ideas returned to his mind.

"But... I don't understand," he finally said. "Why? He grew up at Hogwarts. What would he gain if he prevented the construction of the school? If Hogwarts didn't exist, he wouldn't have been trained as a wizard."

"Voldemort is convinced that, being a descendant of Slytherin, he will not have any problems when it comes to developing his magic," explained the headmaster. "As for his motives... Hogwarts is one of the few institutions that has not submitted to his power, not even during the War, and that makes it a symbol of resistance and courage that does not benefit Voldemort or his propaganda. Also, although this is just speculation on my part, it is possible that he thinks that, without Hogwarts, there would be fewer wizards with the necessary training to deal with him, and thus it would be easier for him to seize power."

Silence fell between the two men after those words, until Severus decided to speak.

"What I don't understand is... how I haven't found out about this. We death eaters are supposed to be the first to know, especially if he's going to experiment on us."

"In fact, Severus, no one knew anything until a couple of days ago," Dumbledore explained. "What's more, I found out myself because the temporal cord suddenly started to glow."

"The what?" it was the second time he had heard that, and he didn't recognize the term.

"Sorry again. Sometimes I forget that this is all new to you. I'll explain," Dumbledore rested his hands on the table. "To travel in time, it is necessary to have something that belongs to the time to which you want to travel, that is why it is almost impossible to travel to the future, you understand?" Severus nodded. "These... objects are called "time cords" because they remain anchored to their time, and with the necessary spell they are more reliable than a portkey or a time turner. In fact, they have the properties of the previous two. If these time cords break or divide, for whatever reason, their properties remain intact, with the exception that, if one of the two parts reacts, the other will too, because at their time of origin they were together. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Severus replied. "But how do we know that... he has traveled to the time of Hogwarts' construction?"

"I discovered that right now," Dumbledore explained. "The founders of Hogwarts buried some of their belongings from before arriving here in the foundations of the school, as if it were a ritual to get rid of their pasts. It is a very well-known story, and it appears in some textbooks, so it is easy that Voldemort heard it during his student days and tried to take the objects, either to travel in time, if at that time he already knew the theory of time cords, or for pure collecting. Tell me, Severus, can you think of any way to get to the foundations of Hogwarts?" he asked, as if he were in front of a student.

"It would only be possible if there was a tunnel that connected to..." then he opened his eyes wide, understanding. "The Chamber of Secrets!"

"Correct," Dumbledore agreed. "It was Slytherin's tribute to Hogwarts before leaving the school, and Voldemort, as his descendant, could enter it with relative ease, to reach the buried objects."

"But it shouldn't be that easy," Severus replied thoughtfully. "That must be a labyrinth, there are too many places to look."

"Not if you master Parseltongue and can make a snake search for you," Dumbledore countered, and Severus nodded in understanding.

"But you said before that you noticed a reaction in the... temporal cord," Severus recalled. "That means... the item he used was split?"

"Luckily for us. If he had used an object from any of the other founders, we wouldn't have known," Dumbledore agreed.

"And what did he use?"

"That's what I was going to show you," Dumbledore got up from the chair and walked towards one of the display cases. When he returned, he showed Severus half of what looked like a gold pendant, in the shape of an eagle with outstretched wings. However, only one of the chains and half of the animal remained. "Rowena Ravenclaw, our first headmistress, had the idea of leaving a part of herself in this office, and that was a great success, I must say. The other half was buried along with the other founders' possessions in the foundations of Hogwarts, and that's how we know which era they've traveled to and by who they're going to."

"I don't understand," Severus turned the pendant between his fingers. "Why didn't he use something Slytherin? He belonged to that house."

"Good observation, Severus," Dumbledore sat down again. "Rowena was the only one of the founders who was defenseless and isolated," he explained. "The other three had already arrived on the Hogwarts grounds years in advance, although the idea of founding a school would not arise until much later, but Rowena lived quite far from here, and it was pure chance that she decided to set out to meet with the other three."

"And that's why he decided to kill Ravenclaw? To stop the foundation of Hogwarts?"

"I don't know if he has decided to kill her, but the fact is that she is in danger, so we must hurry to prevent Voldemort from doing something that will change history," said Dumbledore. "I think I can count on your help for this, in fact, I am sure that you are fully qualified for this mission."

"Wait a minute," Severus interrupted, a little alarmed. Where did he want to end up? "How is this supposed to involve me?"

"Severus, what I want to tell you is that you must travel to the past so that Rowena Ravenclaw arrives safely at her destination," Dumbledore explained, with infinite calm, but without stopping drilling him with his blue eyes. "It is the only way to ensure the survival of Hogwarts."

"Why me? Wouldn't it be better to send someone else more...Ravenclaw?"

"I'm afraid, Severus, that you are the only one with the necessary skills for this mission," Dumbledore explained. "From what I imagine, Voldemort has sent death eaters back in time. And who better to take on a death eater than another death eater?"

"But–"

"You know their tricks, their way of acting, and as you yourself have reminded me on countless occasions, you have great knowledge and mastery of the dark arts," Dumbledore hid a smile when saying that.

"Yes, but–"

"If I could, I would go myself," the headmaster continued, guessing Severus' next question. "But then, who would bring me back? Who would face Voldemort if he decided to attack Hogwarts in the present?"

"I understand," Severus agreed, taciturnly.

"Damn old man," he thought. "He had to turn against me the reasons I gave him to teach Defense Against Dark Arts."

"I knew you would understand," Dumbledore agreed, and Severus could have sworn he was teasing him. "We must act quickly," Dumbledore stood up again. "Your trip will take place immediately, everything is prepared."

"This... Dumbledore, why is there such a rush?" Severus asked, with a hint of panic. "You said you can send me to any time in the past we choose. Why not wait a bit to... prepare to make sure that the Dark Lord has really managed to open a portal?"

"Severus, I couldn't live in peace knowing that Voldemort has sent his agents to change history, and I hope you can't either," he looked at him intently over his half-moon glasses.

"No, of course not," Severus muttered.

"Damn old man," he thought. Well, of course he could live so peacefully, especially when he didn't have a single proof that what the headmaster had told him was true. It's not that he doubted him, but... did he really have to act like a human guinea pig? Without trying anything else before?

"Then there is nothing more to talk about," declared the headmaster, before starting to walk from one place to another, taking pots and powders from the shelves. He began to draw a circle on the previously cleared ground. "You'll travel to the time before Rowena arrives at Hogwarts, and you'll likely appear near the death eaters Voldemort has sent, because the time cords tend to get closer to each other. I recommend caution and discretion, because the other part of the pendant will shine just as this one has done, and so they will know that someone else has traveled through time. I'm no expert on this, but maybe you should follow those death eaters until you learn Rowena's location and can get her to safety."

"How am I going to recognize her?" Severus asked, already resigned to the inevitable trip, and looking around at the paintings on the walls.

"Unfortunately, the tradition of portraying the headmaster came several centuries later," Dumbledore lamented, guessing what Severus was looking for. "So we don't have any images of Rowena. I'm afraid you'll have to follow your instincts."

"Great, so now I don't even know what to look for."

"And how am I going to return to the present?"

"You will have to leave something of yours here, so you can return," Dumbledore explained, after thinking about it for a moment. "It will act the other way around."

The "objects" that Dumbledore took were a lock of hair and a few drops of blood, which he attached with a spell. He taught Severus the words he had to use, both to travel to the past and to return, and told him to stand in the center of the circle, to which he had added several runes drawings.

"I forgot to tell you that Rowena's maiden name was Adler," Dumbledore added, checking to make sure everything was okay. "She adopted her husband's last name, and that is what we know her by."

Severus nodded, trying to find one last excuse not to make that trip.

"What will happen with the classes?" he asked, desperate. Dumbledore smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll try to get you back today, but if you're late, I can hire a substitute, right?"

Severus growled, understanding that he was not getting out of that situation either. Why did Dumbledore always have a solution for everything?

"And what about the things that I don't know?" he asked desperately, making Dumbledore look at him strangely. "The language, the customs–"

"You will learn all this thanks to a spell of my invention," the headmaster responded, once again leaving Severus without excuses. "You better hold the pendant well, because it will be the only thing that can ensure your arrival, and don't forget the spell to return," he advised. Severus nodded and watched helplessly as the headmaster said goodbye to him.

Having no other choice, he spoke the spell he had learned and instantly saw how a silver light surrounded him, like a bell, just as his body became less solid and began to fade.

He took one last look at the office, trying to keep the smallest detail in his memory so he could remember it when it was time to return. The light grew more intense, and when it faded, Severus was gone.

Dumbledore looked at the empty space, where the professor had been seconds before, wondering if he had done the right thing. Then, he looked again at a very thick, old book that rested on his desk, and he realized that he had done well: Severus had a place in history, and now it was in his hands.