Time For Change

Hello again. I tried to take everything you said into consideration as I reworked this chapter. I thought that I would try to better explain everything again. I hope it worked. If it didn't please tell me your thoughts, ideas, and conserns. As I said before, I am a horrid typer, and all mistakes are my own. I do have a beta, but she is out of the country right now, and I would hate to bother her while she is on vacation.

On with the chapter:


Severus fallowed Dobby to his new rooms, not noticing where he was going because he was in such deep thought.
“We’s here sir” Dobby said, pointing to what looked like a landscape painting. Yet if you looked close, a young girl sat under the tree reading a book. She reminded Severus of Hermione, except the girl in the paintings hair straight. “The password is Change” and with that Dobby went back to the kitchens.

“At least it’s a password I can live with” Severus mumbled, glad it was nothing like Gryffindor rules, or something else along those lines. He stepped into his new home and his breath hitched a little. It was much homier than his dungeon rooms. Though he would miss the dark mysteriousness of the dungeon, he could see that this room had potential to become a favored reading spot, well study spot now since he was a student.

The walls were a pale green, so light they almost looked white. There was a large plush couch and two matching chairs facing the fire with a comfortable looking rug placed in the center. The walls were covered floor to ceiling with books donated from the library, and there was a small kitchenette off to the left. All in all it reminded Severus of a bed and breakfast.

He took the stairs which he assumed would lead him to his room, and turned to the door on the left. This room was definitely his. The walls were cream, but the carpet was black. The ceiling resembled the Great Hall’s except it seemed to be set on night all the time. The furniture was all a deep mahogany, and the four poster king sized bed looked even more comfortable then the one he previously had. As in the common room, there were books on most of the wall space. There were no portraits, which Severus liked, because he knew how much the occupants liked to gossip. Also, there was a door off to the right which led to what he assumed to be the bathroom.

As he walked, he noticed the tile had both the Slitherin crest and the Gryffindor crest on it, though in an off white so to not attract much attention. There was a tub large enough to be considered a small pool, and a shower that could easily fit four people. Looking to his left, he saw the loo, and two sinks and vanities.

“Shit” he mumbled. “I had forgotten that the heads share a bathroom as well as common room. Well that could be awkward. Then again, he was sure that they could come up with an arrangement. He continued to explore his new room, before he headed down to dinner to help Albus explain what happened to the staff, and also to explain the plan.

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Hermione was reading when she heard the tapping at her window. Thinking it was one of the boys, she rushed to let the owl in. To her surprise, it was an owl form Hogwarts instead.
“How odd” she mused, “I shouldn’t be getting my letter for at least a week, we always get them while were at the Burrow.” She said to herself.

Once the letter was open, she quickly read it. Only to drop it in disbelief. She had achieved Head Girl. It was her dream, and now it was her reality. She quickly picked the letter up and reread it, finally picking up on the fact that it was from the new Head Boy. He was a new student, but she trusted Dumbledore’s judgment and would wait to ask questions later.

Hermione looked up and noticed that the owl was still there. “He must be waiting for a response.” She said, grabbing a quill and a spare piece of parchment off of her desk.

Severus Snape,
Hello, as you know, I am Hermione Granger. I am delighted to find out that I have received the position of Head Girl, and trust that Dumbledore did not make a mistake in putting you in as Head Boy. I am excited to meet you on the train ride, so we can get to know each other. I normally sit with my friends Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter, you are welcome to join us in our compartment if you would like. I am sorry to hear about your parents, I am sure they were good people. This war has cost us to much, and we have been forced to grow up to fast. Yet I know that in the end it will be worth it to see the Dark Lord fall. I look forward to meeting you, have a lovely rest of summer.
Yours truly,
Hermione Granger

She attached the letter to the owl’s foot and watched it fly away.

Tomorrow she left for the Burrow; she would wait to surprise everyone with the good news there. Instead she ran to tell her parents, and then to finish packing. It wasn’t everyday that she had such good news. She knew her parents would be ecstatic, even if they were sad that she was leaving for the rest of her summer break.

Once she and her parents calmed down, she headed back upstairs to pack, placing the letter at the top of her trunk, and went to bed.

“Attention staff, your attention please” Dumbledore shouted as he stood to explain Severus’ condition.
“As you can see, Severus is no longer himself. In a tragic mishap, he added too much unicorn blood to an aging potion. Now, you may or may not know the properties of Unicorn blood, but it is a very unstable element. The slightest bit extra in the wrong potion can throw off everything. In this case, it changed time for Severus. It also planted false memories in those who knew, knew of, or even just passed Severus in the street.” He could tell by the silence that he had everyone’s attention.

“Unicorn blood is a very unique substance, which is why it is so rare, it can give life, but it can also take life. We are lucky that Severus is still with us today. As I have already explained to Severus, the castle’s ancient magic let us keep our memories of the “old” Severus. Yet for those not in the castle, it is like he never existed.”

“You see, if anyone other than those of us here today tried to think of Severus, they would come up with a man they knew as Sev Stephenson. He slightly resembled Severus, but had many differences, his hair for example was brown not black. Also, he had a different build. The chemical reaction caused by the unicorn and the 18 other ingredients already used in the potion, caused many different things to happen. Each reaction helped us in one way or another. Severus is still alive, we now have a cover story, and if anyone is to ask about Sev Stephenson, he is in hiding for going against the Dark Lord.”

Flitwick’s hand flew up in question. It was one of his more annoying traits if Severus had anything to say about it, but still, Albus gave him the floor. “How did this happen? I mean Severus is the best potions master I know.” He asked what many others wanted to know.

“I made a grave error in judgment. I lost concentration while multitasking and it cost me my life as I knew it” I answered truthfully.

“To error is human.” Dumbledore stated. “Any other questions?” “Yes, Minerva?”

“Well Albus, you said that the Dark Lord thinks that Sev, as he now remembers him is in hiding., wont the real Severus feel his wrath when he is called? Also, how does he know that he betrayed him?” She asked.

“To answer your first question, the Dark Lord thinks that Sev as he now knows him, betrayed him, because I happened upon a known low ranking death eater and once I had him captured I added memories that never happened. He then relayed them to the Dark Lord. The fact that no one is responding to his call proved his thoughts that he somehow outsmarted him, and is truly in hiding. As for the actual Severus feeling his wrath, he will not, for you see he no longer holds the mark. Severus did not take the mark until after his 19th birthday. “ He explained.

“Albus, what is he going to do now? What is your plan for him?” Sprout asked.

“Well, we have decided that Severus will come to Hogwarts as a student. Head Boy to be exact. Now, before you complain Minerva, he will be in Gryffindor. And yes, I know that he is no Gryffindor, for even he himself said he is Slitherin through and through.. But, he will be working to protect Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and the only way to do that is by becoming their friend” Albus explained.

“Well, I think that’s enough for tonight.” Severus said pretending to yawn. “I will be going to my rooms now, I think I will indulge in a nice book and head in. Night all.” He stated after pushing away from the teachers table. “Oh, and Albus, make sure you find someone competent to teach potions.” He said walking pass the Gryffindor table an thinking that starting in a few weeks, he would be sitting there everyday. The thought itself gave him chills. But he knew he could do this, he had to do this.

So, what do you think?????
I tired to make it a bit longer, and hopefully alot more informative. Do you like it?
As you can tell from the way things in the fic are going, there wont be lemons for awhile, but until then, I want to atlest establish some sort of background.

I will try to have another chapter up tomorrow, but I do not know if I will have time. I have school, work, and then my interview with Harvard, so I will be pretty busy, plus the fact that I am really nervous, means that I will not be able to write tonight.

R&R-I love it!
~Cait