Time and Again

By Thomas Schiff and Faerwhyn

"Um... Professor? Where is Professor Slughorn?” Ron asked as he sat in his sixth year potions class. Snape stood at the front of the sixth year Gryffindor/Slytherin class and sneered at Ron.

“It seems that your potions professor is unable to teach for the time being as he was hit in the head with a bludger at a Hollyhead Harpy game.” Snape said. “For the time being I will be your professor once more in this class. Now we will be working on aging antidote potions. This potion reverses the effects of an aging potion.” He said. “Now... does anyone here know what the ingredients for this potion consist of?”

Immediately Hermione’s hand jumped up into the air. Snape looked around and sneered. “Pity.” Snape said. “Has Slughorn taught you nothing?” He asked. “You should have covered this already.” He said. He never did like the way Slughorn taught. The man always spent too much time conversing about irrelevant topics than actual class work. “The aging antidote potion consists of three major ingredients. Leaves from a Necroot plant, the blood of a Gangtomb bat and Boom slang skin.” He said. “If you turn to page 356 the list of the other ingredients are listed there along with instructions on how to brew the potion. Get to work.” Snape sat down at the desk and heard the students shuffling around the class room for their supplies as he pulled forward some papers he had brought from his defence against the dark arts class to mark.

It was almost ten minutes later when he heard an unusual cracking noise. Snape looked up to see Hermione turning angrily to Malfoy as Potter tried to take her potion off of the fire so that it wouldn’t... the entire potion exploded and Snape was just able to put up a shield with his wand to protect the students behind the cauldron. Fortunately for the students Miss Granger was in the front row, unfortunately for him, so was he. Snape was covered in green goop and felt a sharp pain as a piece of the cauldron embedded into his stomach. Snape’s shield went down as his eyesight blurred. The last thing he was aware of was a few of the students standing up in shock and Miss Granger and Potter coming forward to presumably help him as he felt himself fall forward unconscious.

---

Snape could barely hear the sounds of voices. As if they were very far away and his head was immersed in water. Straining to hear what they were saying he could barely make out what it was. He could hear a woman speaking he knew that much and could make out the words irreversible, strange situation and ministry. Then he remembered what had happened. He shot up straight in bed as if he had been shocked awake by water being dumped on his head. He felt a hand on his shoulder and tried to struggle away from it.

“Severus?” He heard the womans voice say. “Severus calm down, no one’s trying to hurt you.” Snape calmed down a bit as he recognised the voice but sat flat against the wall behind him at the head of the bed.

“Madam Pomfrey?” He asked staring blankly at the bed. “Wh.... What happened?” He asked. “Why can’t I see?” Madam Pomfrey put her hand on his shoulder and tried to coax him to lay back down.

“You where splashed with a potion dear. I’m afraid a good portion of it got into your eyes.” She said.

“Is that what you said was irreversible?” Madam Pomfrey looked confused though he couldn’t see it.

“No dear... your eyesight will return within the hour.” She said. “Tell me Severus... what is the last thing you remember?”

“The last thing I remember? Going to the shrieking shack and Potter showing up out of nowhere.”

“Potter?” Pomfrey asked.

“Yeah... Potter... I followed him and his buddies up to the shrieking shack cause they have been sneaking up there for the past few months now. I wanted to know what they where up to. Sirius told me how to get up there through the Whomping willow and the next thing I know I’m being chased by a werewolf and Potters there trying to play the big hero again.”

“I see... Prof... Mr Snape... what year is it?” Severus was confused by this question.

“Ninteen seventy six.” He said easily. “Why?”

That explained a lot. “Get some rest Severus.” She said. “I’m going to have a word with the head master. I shall be back to check on you, for now you should keep your eyes closed, let them heal.”

“Yes ma’am.” He said. “Um... Madam Pomfrey?” He asked. She turned to him and he continued assuming she had stopped. “Would it be possible to get a glass of water?”

“Of course.” She said before leaving the room.

Severus sat back and tried to contemplate what potion could have hit him since he was in the shreaking shack. None of the moronic four could brew anywhere near a perfect potion, plus why would they be brewing it there of all places.

He could hear Madame Pomphrey returning with his glass of water, so he turned towards the noise.

"Here you are my dear." Madame Pomphrey said as she drew nearer to Severus. She took the hand that he was waving about for the glass and held it still while placing it aginst his palm so he could curl his fingers around it. Taking the galss Severus tried to bring it up to his mouth but the first time he hit his chin and the second hit his nose. Finally he managed to get the glass to his mouth all the while grumbling about the incompitance of James Potter causing him endless irritations.

After he had drank the glass of water Madame Pomphrey removed the glass from his hands and Severus jumped thinking that she had left the room. It embarassed him to know that she had watched him struggle to drink the water.

"Don't worry Mr. Snape, your eyesight will return shortly and with it your coordination." Then Madame Pomphrey excused herself and left the room. Just as she reached the door she turned and said, "Mr. Snape, you should lie back down and try to get some rest, you've been through some rather trying events today." With that she turned on her heel and left him to his own thoughts.

Trying events? That's a bit of an understatement. He laid back down and fought to find the blanket he could feel around his waist. He pulled it up to his chin and curled up on the bed on his side hoping to get some sleep and hopefully when he woke up his eyesight would be back.

---

"Not at the moment kids." Pomfrey said to the trio. "He has a bit of a.... well a condition it's rather fragile at the moment."

"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked. Ron stood behind them not really caring two licks about what happened to Snape but was along for the ride.

"He'll be fine, but it's going to be tough on him." Pomfrey told them.

"When will we be able to see him?" Hermione asked, being the sensible one she figured it was best not to agrevate the nurse.

Madame Pomphrey looked over the three and responded, "When he is released from the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore is trying to figure out what we can do right now. "

Both Harry and Hermione slumped at this response. They really wanted to make sure that Professor Snape was alright. Ron really just wanted to get as far away from the bitter man as possible. In his thinking, it was more likely that he'll be even more of a jerk after the accident than he was before. Snape did not take well to things blowing up in his class.

"Fine," Hermione said and turned to the boys. "We might as well go start on the rest of our homework. There's that huge project for transfiguration about animagi that we need to work on." She started to walk away from the hospital wing with a determined stride.

"But Hermione, thats not due for two weeks." Ron whined from behind her. Still he fell into step with her and they quietly argued about the necessity to do homework early all the way back to the common room. Harry walked silently behind them the whole way, a contemplative expression on his face.

When they got to the common room they found that no-one was there. It was a beautiful fall day outside so that must be where everybody was. they sat down on the couches by the fire.

"I'm going to go see him tonight." Harry suddenly said. "After curfew."

"Harry!" Ron said annoyed and shocked. "why do you even care about the greasy git? He makes your life hell. It would be a blessing if his mouth was gone or something."

"Thats not the point Ron." Harry said, starting to turn red with frustration at how single minded Ron could be. "Its about making sure that the man who just saved us from some potentially life threatening event is alright. I may not like Snape most of the time but he is at least protecting our asses when we need it."

"Oh come off it Harry. He only does it because Dumbledore would fire his ass if he let the chosen one and his friends die." Ron fumed. "Hermione talk some sense into him."

"What sense?" Hermione asked "I'm going with him. He'll just stick his foot in his mouth if someone isn't there to stop him. I think he's right we need to make sure that Professor Snape is alright and since Madame Pomphrey won't let us see him now we'll just wait until she won't be there."

Ron groaned in frustration. "fine... If you two want to get in trouble for him have at it."

"O come off it Ron," Hermione frowned at him "Since when do we get caught or rather into trouble?" Then she stopped.

Both the boys looked at her incredulously and then all three of the gryffindors started to giggle and laugh. "Really Hermione?" Harry gasped between gasps of air when they had finally settled down a bit. "I think the better question is when don't we get into trouble." They giggled for a little while longer and then settled down to get some homework done even though Ron grumbled the entire time. Soon enough it was dinner time and they left to go down to the Great Hall.

-----

It was just after midnight when there was nobody but the trio left in the common room. After supper Harry had tucked his invisibility cloak and the Maurauders map into his backpack so they would be ready for anytime that they decided was safe to head down to the Hospital wing.

The hospital wing was dark this time of night. Harry used lumos to see the map and pointed to one of the beds. "He's there," he whispered.

Making sure that Madame Pomphrey wasn't anywhere near, Hermione and Harry maneuvered their way over to the cot where their professor was laying. It looked to them like he was alseep but as they got closer Snape rolled over quickly facing them, His eyes were wide open and staring, his wand at the ready.

"Who are you?" Snape asked his voice sounding horse as if he had just woke up.

"Sorry to have woken you sir." Hermione automatically said as Harry removed the invisiblity cloak. "We wanted to make sure you were ok after the potions accident."

Severus Snape looked at the two individuals standing infront of him. This must be a joke, he thought. There was no way in hell that Potter would come and make sure that he was alright. But who in the world was this frizzy haired girl. Maybe there was still something wrong with his eyesight, Potter did look slightly strange. "Don't presume me stupid. I know you wouold not be checking on my health Potter. I'm afraid whatever you did to me affected how I see things so would you care to tell me who the chit is?"

"Professor?" She asked. "It's... It's me... Hermione Granger." She said confused. She pulled out her wand and said Lumo's illuminating the room more.

Snape flinched from the brightness of the light, closing his eyes in shock. "What the hell are you doing? Trying to blind me more?"

"Oh my, I'm so sorry sir." Hermione squeeked. She rushed to his side and sat down in the chair beside his bed. She looked like any second she would start to sob. "I was so shocked that you couldn't see me that I did that and I can't beleive I did that it was just an automatic reaction. I am so sorry. Really. Please forgive me. I had no clue..." She rambled on.

"Hermione, you're rambling." Harry informed his distraught friend. "Really, I think he got that you were sorry the first time you said it." Harry turned back to face Snape "We really did want to make sure you were ok." Harry said a little more quietly than seemed normal.

"You don't... sound like Potter." Snape said confused. "Similar but... not quite... who are you?"

"Thats not funny Professor." Harry replied. "I've always been Potter to you. I'll always be Potter, Harry Potter the boy who bloody well lived." Harry muttered rather resentfully.

"Harry?" He asked. "I don't know anyone named Harry. And why do you keep calling me professor?" He asked.

"Of course its Harry." Hermione said. "Harold James Potter. You've known him since he was born. Would you prefer us to call you sir?"

"I know a James Potter... but I don't know anyone named Harold..." Snape said as if the two of them where crazy.

"Thats ridiculous sir." Hermione exclaimed.

At the same time Harry piped in with, "You've been teaching us for almost six years. How can you have forgotten your least favourite students first name?"

Snape lowered his wand slightly more out of confusion than anything else. "What?"

"Oh for heavens sakes." Hermione said getting rather annoyed at the conversation going nowhere. "Professor close your eyes for a second so I can brighten the room so you can see us. Lumos." With that the area around Snape's bed brightened and two sharp gasps were heard all along the hospital wing.

"Merlin's fuzzy balls." Harry whispered completely shocked.

"Harry!" Hermione too was just as shocked as Harry but would never lower herself to such crude phrases of surprise. She looked back at Snape and tried to make a comprhensive sentence but her vocal abilities seemed to have wandered off.

Snape closed his eyes and looked away from the light but they could still see his face. He appeared to be almost near their age but... "Why are you staring at me?" He asked squinting at them through the light. His eyes had healed but they where still sensitive.

"Because....," Harry didn't really know how to answer that question. There were a number of reasons. " um... well... you're young." Harry put it as simply as he could.

"So are you..." Snape said starting to get annoyed. "Your point?"

"You're not!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione finally started to regain the use of her mouth and vocal cords and so she stepped up to prevent Harry from inserting his foot into his mouth any farther. "Professor, it would seem that you have become youthful after the explosion."

"What explosion?" He asked starting to get pissed off by this point. "If you are only going to explain a fraction of what happened I'll just advise that you leave and at least let me rest if not, actually tell me what the hells going on cause every one seems to be keeping me in the dark."

"Fine if that is what you want." Hermione replied. "Then I need to know what the last thing you remember is. Do you remember getting to class or starting us brewing?"

"The last thing I remember is following Blacks stupid advice about going into the whomping willow.... no doubt he was trying to kill me... he knew what was in there." Snape muttered something under his breath before continuing. "Then James bloody Potter comes out of no where and decides to play the big hero. Probably planned the whole thing with Black to make himself look good."

"Oh dear. You're missing quite a bit there. Something like twenty years." Hermione just blurted out. Harry looked at her as if he might get sick. "I probably shouldn't have said that out loud."

"That explains why Madame Pomfrey didn't want us to see him." Harry tried to laugh the awkward moment away.

"Someone wanna let me in on the joke?" Snape asked moving to sit back against the head board.

"Harry, its not a laughing matter." Hermione admonished her best friend. "I am so sorry professor. I didn't realize your memories were wiped with your age. You are in actuality thirty seven. It's nineteen ninety seven." She paused there waiting for that information to sink in just a little bit.

"You're full of it... seriously is Black in on this?" He asked. He was used to the marauders playing pranks on him, but this was a little far fetched.

Harry's face automatically darkened. "Sirius died at the end of the last school year." He said, his voice completely emotionless.

"Harry you know Sirius would have gotten a hoot out of this," Hermione whispered to Harry. "But seriously sir, this is no joke. You are 37 or you were this morning anyways. You teach defense against the dark arts, well this year anyway. You've been teaching potions for many years."

Hermione didn't want to give too much away just in case he didn't want to know but he did ask for her to tell him.

Snape stared at her for many moments before he opened his mouth to speak. But before he could he was cut off.

"What are you two doing in here?!" Pomfrey asked. Luckily Snape was the only patient in the hospital wing other wise she would have woken everyone up.

"Sleepwalking?" Harry ventured with a lopsided grin.

"I'm sure it's been sleep walking you've been doing. What did you tell him?" Pomfrey asked.

"By your reaction to their presence here I'm assuming the truth." Snape said. Now that he was past his shock and confusion, or at least to some degree, he was back to his old perceptive self. "Is it true what they are saying? Is it really nineteen ninety seven? Am I really supposed to be thirty seven years old?"

Madame Pomfrey turned and glared at hermione knowing that Potter would never have been able to tell Snape what his age was supposed to be. "You shouldn't meddle, Miss Granger. What am I supposed to tell the Headmaster now. He was trying to work out a cure."She was fit to be tied and just continued to ramble about the indecency of children and how they don't respect the wishes of their elders. Finally Hermione interupted the nurse.

"We came to make sure he was alright. Seeing as you refused to tell us anything we decided it was up to us to make sure he wasn't dead." Hermione stood with her hands on her hips challenging the nurse to try and out stubborn her.

"I told you he was alive and well..." Pomfrey said. "Now you two may go."

"Actually I'd rather they stay if it's okay." Snape said to the shock of all three. "Honestly I don't mind them considering they are the only ones with the half decency to tell me what's going on." Madame Pomfrey sighed and glared at the two.

"You be careful what you tell him." She said. "He needs to be resting right now, we don't need him worked up over things there is no control over." She said before briskly leaving the room.

"Well that went better than I expected." Harry said to Hermione. Hermione nodded and the turned back to look at Snape.

"So what would you like to know? Obviously we have to do short versions but none the less we can still tell you some stuff tonight." Hermione said to Snape.

Snape sighed and cracked his neck. "The questions I have you probably couldn't answer." He said simply.

Hermione's back straightened right away and her face got that crazy determined look on it. Harry knew that Snape had stepped in it and he was going to find out right away. "Well you can't determine whether or not I have the answer if you don't ask it. I'll have you know that I am a pantheon of knowledge just waiting to be unleashed, not that you would ever let me share that knowledge in class." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the now gawky teenager who used to be her potions professor.

"Alright... then how did I become a professor?" He asked. "I hate kids, why would I do that?"

Harry chuckled, "Don't worry sir you still hate the students but this way you get to punish them whenever they do something to annoy you. I do beleive your favourite descriptive word is dunderheads."

Hermione didn't see Harry's reply as rather informative but she didn't want to scar this younger version of Snape either, especially if he hadn't started turning towrds the dark at this point in his life. "Well, sir, it had to do with some sort of deal you worked out with Dumbledore. I don't know all the details but he had something you wanted and since you are an incredibly gifted master of potions he couldn't pass that up."

"Do my parents still live on Spinners End?" He asked. He didn't see why they would move but it was a valid question. It was some time that had past. But seeing as he was only thirty seven his mother should only be in her early fifties.

"No." Hermione said a little cautiously. "You own Spinners End now."She seemed to shift about nervously. and couldn't keep eye contact with him for long. She wasn't supposed to know that. Harry looked at her like she was crazy but the again sometimes he really thought she was.

Snape didn't speak for a few moments before he found his voice. "Where's my parents?"

"I'm really sorry sir. I wish I could give you better news." Hermione looked like she was going to cry just having to tell him. "They are both no longer among the living. About eighteen or nineteen years now, I think."

Snape stayed silent once again before breaking the silence. "Both? How did they die?"

Hermione yet again couldn't look at him. Everything she knew was a total invasion of his privacy. She felt horrible now and the tears were freely streaming down her face. "Your dad passed first. It had something to do with Voldemorte. After that your mom just fell apart. She totally lost it and passed a few months later. I don't know the officials CODs."

"Oh..." Snape said simply. He was once again in shock. It was a lot of information to take in at once. "What about my friends?" He asked. What few friends he had anyway. He could feel tears pricking his eyes from the information about his parents. "What happened to them?"

"Hermione..." Harry whispered. "We should go.... he should rest." Harry said knowing that most of what friends he had at sixteen would either be death eaters or dead.

"Harry, I can't leave him in the dark." She could see that Snape was verging on an emotional breakdown or at least as close to one as she ever imagined he could be. "I don't know who all your friends were sir. I know a lot of people have died over the past 20 years. I don't think I could give you a list." She moved even closer to Snape and even sat down on the edge of the bed wanting to get closer to give him some comfort.

Of course... that was a stupid question for him to ask even if the list of his friends wasn't very long. "What about Lily?" He asked suddenly. "Lily Evans. What happened to her? Do you know?"

Harry froze at that. What in the world did Snape care what had happened to his mum. But being Harry things just seemed to pop out of his mouth and this was no exception. "Mum's dead. Her and dad."

Snape being the intellectual person that he was had put two and two together with that comment. "Lily married James." He said quietly as if talking to himself. Snape felt a tear fall down his cheek. She was dead. His reason for joining the death eaters must have failed. Which was probably the reason he had joined up with Dumbledor.

"Didn't we just establish that?" Harry asked Hermione. She nodded and continued to watch Snape for any and all reactions to this news. She didn't know the significance behind the connection of Lily and Snape but she figured it was pretty high up there on the list of reasons he was the way he was.

Snape didn't know how to react to Lily's death. His parents death. It was all too much. Not wanting the two people before him see him cry he moved quickly and, seeing as how Hermione was beside him on the bed and Harry blocked the other side, moved off the end of the bed and ran as fast as he could to the hospital wing door. He flew down the stairs two at a time not even thinking of where he was going.

"Severus!" He barely heard Madame Pomfrey's voice as he flew through the front door and ran bare foot across the grounds, the snow cold against his feet. He didn't know how long he ran for, and was barely even aware that he had fallen a few times, his black pants and untucked white shirt becoming covered in snow. He didn't stop running until he hit the front gate of the grounds and collapsed against the black metal bars. He sat in a crumpled heap clinging to the bars like a life line as he broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks, his body shaking with the force or his emotions.

Back in the hospital wing Harry was staring at the doors trying to comprehend what had just happened. As soon as Snape flew out the doors both Hermione and Madame Pomfrey followed in hot persuit. All he could do was stand there.

Madame Pomfrey ran as fast as her feet would carry her all the way to Dumbledore's office. It was almost two in the morning so she doubted that he was awake but she still decided it was better now than to wait.

At the same time Hermione dashed after Snape. He was quick and she wasn't quite as well built for running as he was but the many years of getting in and out of trouble with Harry and Ron had kept her in fairly good shape. She followed him always just having him in her sight but not close enough to be able to stop his breakneck journey out of the castle. She knew that he hadn't noticed her following him and so when she caught up to him she wasn't quite sure what to do. He looked so broken clinging to the front gates. She gathered all her gryffindor courage and moved closer to him. Kneeling in the snow beside him she put her arms around him and hugged him like it would cure all the evils of the world.

Snape froze as she wrapped her arms around him. He had left so that she wouldn't see him like this, could she not understand that? Never the less he clung onto her and, his pride be damned, he cried. His whole body felt numb, though it was only partially due to the snow.

Hermione could feel his tears soaking the front of her cloak but she did not care. She continued to hold him and while he cried she did too. She couldn't help it, his sorrow was so great she could feel it and it made her sad that anyone should feel that way. Unknowingly she started to rock the young man in her arms and whispered her condolences and future hopes into his ears. She didn't think he could hear her over the roar of the January wind in Scotland.

He didn't know how long it had been that they sat there before he realized that he couldn't feel his feet any more. Or his hands. He started to calm down and pushed himself away from Hermione. "Why did you follow me?" He asked leaning against the gate. He looked almost like a broken marionette puppet.

"Noone should have to deal with all that sorrow by themselves." Hermione replied softly. She wiped the tears off her face. "Come on, lets get you back inside before we both freeze to death."

Snape followed her back to the school refusing any help from her. His feet hurt and where numb and he could no longer feel his arms. His flimsy shirt did nothing to repel the cold and it was starting to hurt the longer it took to get back to the school. He was suddenly regretting his actions. Soon they had arrived back at the school and where greeted by Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledor coming down the stairs.

"Thank you for going and retrieving you Mr. Snape, Miss Granger. But I do believe it is time for you to be in bed." Dumbldore said, his eyes twinkling the entire time. Madame Pomfrey turned towards Dumbledore, a look of complete disgust on her face.

"They will not be going to bed, Professor. They have both been outside in the blistering cold for 20 minutes, they will return to the Hospital wing so that I may make sure that they are healthy." Madame Pomfrey exclaimed, an air of finality telling Dumbledore not to argue. under her breath she mumbled "Then I will kill them myself." but it wasn't loud enough for either of the students to hear and Dumbledore just grinned even wider at the situation.

Snape made his way back up to the hospital wing and pulled off his drenched white shirt. Harry was gone, presumably back to the common room to go back to bed. He dropped the shirt onto the floor and grabbed a pair of the soft cotton white pajama pants that belonged to the hospital wing. Pulling off the black pants he put the white pajama pants on and slipped into bed. It was nearing one am and he was tired.

Hermione had followed Snape back to the infirmary but as soon as he started removing his clothes she realized he didn't know. She turned right around and sat down on the bed next to his and swung her legs back and forth waiting for something, anything to happen. After about five minutes she got too restless and said, "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Sleep." Severus said pulling the blankets over him.

"Thats not what I meant." Hermione said as she started to shiver from her frozen clothes now becoming wet from warming up.

"I don't want to think..." Severus said. "I'm to tired... there's.... too much..."

"You dddddddon't haaave to dddoo it alllone." Hermione said through her shivers.

It had stayed quiet for so long that Hermione had thought that he had fallen asleep. She pulled a pair of the pajamas, unlike him she grabbed a shirt as well, and changed quickly knowing that he was facing the other way. She crawled into bed under the blanket and sighed. It was silent for almost ten minutes before she faintly heard Severus' voice break the silence.

"Thank you..."