‘Who are you?’
The voice scared the living daylights out of Rose who had been nodding off on the loveseat, thoroughly exhausted. Her legs and arms sprang into involuntary action and Rose was on her feet, wand in hand, three seconds after the voice had entered her ears. It took another second for her to wake up fully, and when she did, her eyes fell on the man on the couch across from her. He was sitting up now, staring at her with a contemptuous look on his face. He was still pale, but at least he was alive and awake.
Rose’s heart slowed to its natural speed and she quickly stowed her wand away and sat back down, nervous.
‘Are you feeling okay?’ she asked awkwardly. His opaque stare made her want to fidget and look away, like a naughty schoolgirl. I’m eighteen, she told herself firmly. I have every right to be here. I’m not a student and he can’t punish me. Stop acting intimidated.
‘Who are you?’ Severus repeated, his black eyes like gimlets to her blue ones.
‘I “ I “ I”’ stuttered Rose, wondering how to explain.
‘If you fail to recall even your own name, then I am at a loss to understand how you helped me, as I suspect you have,’ said Snape flatly.
The goad launched Rose into speech. ‘I’m Rose Weasley,’ she blurted out.
Snape looked surprised in spite of himself. ‘Rose… Weasley.’
Rose could tell he thought she was lying. ‘Yes. I came here from the future and I need your help.’
‘You need my help.’
‘There’s a disease “ in my time “ it’s ravaging the new generation. Children are dying… I “ I need a cure.’
‘A cure.’
Rose felt that he could at least stop repeating her own words. It was making her feel even more nervous that she already was. She wouldn’t say anything more until he gave her something to reply to.
‘I cannot help you.’
‘Yes, you can!’ insisted Rose. ‘I’ve seen a cure, in one of your books’” she reached into pocket (it had been helpfully enlarged by Albus) and extracted the red leather book ”‘but it isn’t complete. You have to finish it!’
Severus raised an eyebrow. ‘I should have made myself clearer “ I will not help you.’
Rose had expected it and yet the words still felt like a slap in the face “ you silly little girl, did you really think this could work, taunted her mind. Rose searched her mind for some sort of retort. Something that would make Severus help her “ that would convince him that it was the right thing to do.
But did he care what the “right thing” was? Hadn’t he been doing the “right thing” for the majority of his life? Look where it had taken him “ to the brink of death, murdered by his own “master”, distrusted by those he was truly allied to, hated by the boy he was trying to save. Rose, sitting on the couch across from Severus Snape, a man she’d only seen in portrait-form, a man whose voice she was hearing for the first time, a man who she’d heard so many stories about, knew that he didn’t care what the right thing was and that he’d only mock her if she brought it up.
Perhaps “duty” would do the job. Rose had heard all about Severus Snape over the years, from Professors, from the media, from friends of the family, from her mother, from her father, from her uncle. Each spoke about him in a different tone of voice, and every story they told, was told differently “ Rose had realized that Severus Snape was not an easy man to like. And nor was he an easy man to hate. Her parents and her uncle harbored a lot of regret over what had happened between Severus Snape and them over the years “ regret and anger and sadness. The relationship between Harry and Snape had been particularly harsh, and Rose personally felt both parties were to blame. She was an outsider, had never met Snape, had never felt the need to hate him or like him, and so her opinions of him were as unbiased as they could be. She’d heard about the man from so many sources and put together her own image.
To Rose, the crux of the matter was this: through everything that had ever happened between Severus and Harry, Severus had never turned away from his “duty”. He’d sworn to Albus Dumbledore that he would do his job, and he did do his job. If Rose could inject duty into her cause, then perhaps Severus Snape would bend,
He’d been sitting silently all this time and Rose wondered if this was natural. He hadn’t begun questioning her, hadn’t shouted at her and hadn’t asked what had happened to Voldemort or what was happening at Hogwarts”
Hogwarts! That was it; Rose had the key “ now to see if it fit the lock.
‘You’re Headmaster,’ pointed out Rose.
Snape’s dark eyes rose to meet her. ‘And your point?’ he said sharply.
‘There are Hogwarts students dying in my time “ many are already dead. As Headmaster you’re bound to protect and defend the students of your school “ past, present or future. It’s your duty.’
Rose waited for his response with baited breath, leaning back into the loveseat. There was nothing left to try if this didn’t work “ she’d have to go back home and tell James that she didn’t have anything for him. And the thought of doing that was more that torture.
Lily was right, she never should have mentioned the cure to James at all, the only thing it had done was bring his hopes up”
‘Very well, I will help you. Just this once.’ Snape’s reply was cool and seemingly calculated but Rose had absolutely no idea what he meant by “just this once”. She wouldn’t be around to ask him any more favors once the cure was ready. ‘After which, you shall return me here, to this exact moment. If you hadn’t noticed, we are in the middle of war. I cannot waste time,’ he continued, an odd look, maybe even something like concern, passing over his face.
Rose didn’t speak “ she didn’t know if she could allow him to return to this time… he was supposed to be dead, and allowing him to go on fighting as he seemed to want to do would be changing history. SHe decided she’d cross that hurdle when she got to it.
‘I’ll help,’ Rose offered, ready to do anything to get the cure. ‘Ingredients, materials, anything.’
‘If you insist,’ said Snape. ‘The first thing you shall do is take me to my house “ I will require certain texts if the potion is to be completed.’
‘Fine,’ agreed Rose abruptly.
‘After which, you will provide me with a patient to work on.’
Rose felt taken aback. A patient? How would she bring him back a patient?
‘Th-That’s impossible. People aren’t just a little ill, sir, they’re a lot ill. I can’t bring them back to this time. And what if the disease spreads here?’ The “sir” had been accidental, but Rose didn’t know how to take it back. The thought was swept from her mind at Severus’s next words.
‘Then, it seems, your only option is to take me back with you.’
Take him back home?
The idea was simply ludicrous. It was insane. It was a death wish. Rose’s mouth was hanging open, her eyebrows were hovering somewhere over her head. She could just imagine her mother’s expression “ not to mention her father’s and Uncle Harry’s and Aunt Ginny’s and… and it was her only option.
Snape was right. If she wanted a cure, if she wanted James and all the other dying kids better, then she’d just have to take the risk of getting caught. If the cure worked (and it would, it had to) then no one would ever remember or care what’d she’d done to get the potion.
‘All right,’ Rose agreed.
Severus stood up slowly and Rose watched him, wondering if he’d fall. She’d given him all the Blood Replenishing potion she’d brought “ if it hadn’t been enough… but it seemed it had been sufficient. Snape looked pale but for all Rose knew, he always looked pale.
‘Where are we?’ he asked after a minute.
‘Er “ Privet Drive. Uncle Harry used to live here when he was a kid.’ Not so long ago from now, that meant.
‘And you found this the most appropriate place to hide?’ asked Snape, sounding incredulous.
‘I “ er “ yes, well… there are no wizards around and I thought everyone would leave us alone…’ Rose trailed off under Snape’s gaze and wondered why she felt so nervous around him. She was never shy.
‘Shall we Apparate there?’ she asked, changing the subject. She needed to get a grip on herself; she was acting like someone she didn’t know, like all the soft girls she’d hated at school.
‘My house is under protection,’ Snape informed her. ‘We will Apparate into the town and from there, go to the house.’
‘Fine.’ She waited a second but Severus produced no wand. ‘I don’t know where your house is,’ Rose told him.
‘I have no wand “ you will lend me yours.’
Rose felt odd giving up her wand, especially to Snape, and most especially because he’d not asked but ordered, and rudely at that, but she did so, with only the smallest amount of hesitation. However, she sensed, somehow, that Severus had registered her uncertainty. Rose felt something strange in the pit of her stomach and, as she walked around the coffee table that separated them, wished she’d just handed him the wand immediately.
Facing him, she held out her hand. Severus’s fingers curled around her wrist, Rose’s wand held in his right hand. Rose felt a strange little shiver run up her spine and hoped that Snape had enough energy to Apparate. If he didn’t, they’d both be Splinched and whole lot of good that would do.
But they reached the village Severus lived in without any complications. Rose even managed to control her overwhelming fear. It didn’t seem to be much of a village, Rose decided as she followed Snape down the road. There were only a few grungy looking houses lining the street and only one working lamppost, which flickered ominously. Rose glanced at it and realized that this was a Muggle village.
As they walked, Roses mind slipped back to the predicament of returning to her time with Snape. If it was possible, she wanted to get through the entire episode without being caught. She couldn’t possibly take him to her own home “ since Hugo’s death, her parents had never left the house.
And if she took him to the Potters’ house “ Rose didn’t want to think about it. They might be able to slip past Harry and Ginny, if one of them didn’t open the door and if whoever did open the door didn’t scream when they realized she’d brought Snape along. But what then? Take him up to James’s bedroom and hide there until Severus had finished experimenting? Harry and Ginny spent a lot of time with James, as Rose had found out over her many visits in the past fortnight, and keeping a cauldron of bubbling antidote hidden from them had been hard enough. A full grown man “ who just happened to be their old Potion’s Master (not to mention dead) would be almost impossible to keep secret.
There was also the fact that if Rose spent too much more time holed up in her cousin’s room, either her parents or her Aunt and Uncle would get worried that she’d touch something infected (James, or one of his possessions) and get sick herself “ or that she’d forget the Bubble-Head Charm altogether. Hugo’s things had been sterilized before Rose had been allowed inside after her brother’s death. There was always the danger of forgetfulness “ just brushing against the wrong thing with your skin could be fatal. Rose had always worn full-sleeves and long pants, or robes (which were always covered the body completely) on her visits but she suspected that Harry or Ginny might start worrying about her (after all, her parents had already lost one child) and ask her not to come over so often.
Rose hurried forward to walk beside Snape. ‘How long do you think it will take to prepare the potion?’ she asked him, slightly out of breath.
Severus didn’t look at her. His long, purposeful strides continued to carry him down the street and Rose, smaller than usual, had to jog to keep up. ‘It is impossible to say. The instructions themselves, if I recall correctly, are incomplete. I’m not even sure of all the ingredients.’
Rose fell back again, disappointed. Some help that had been. What if Uncle Harry barreled in one day to find her and Severus crouched on the carpet, brewing a potion like the best of pals? Rose couldn’t even imagine the trouble she’d be in. As it was, there had been numerous close shaves while she and James had been making the antidote. Luckily they’d gotten out of all of them rather easily. For most of that time, the potion had needed to be left alone, and they’d hidden it under James’s bed. Aside from the odd smell that Ginny had noticed one day while dusting, (James had managed to convince her that it was all in her head), there hadn’t been anything terribly incriminating to hide.
However, having Severus Snape in the room most definitely came under the heading of “Incriminating Material” and Rose was sure she couldn’t shove him under the bed suddenly if Ginny or Harry decided to pay an unexpected visit to their eldest son.
What was she going to do?
Severus had turned onto another street, and they passed a sign that read, “Spinner’s End”. Snape’s house was the first (or last, depending on how you came at it) on the cobbled road. Rose glanced up at the sky and saw an ominous looking mill chimney protruding from somewhere behind the houses opposite Snape’s.
The house was dark on the inside (for some reason, Rose had expected it to be lit) from what she could see through the curtained windows. Severus used Rose’s wand to open the door and she followed him inside.
Snape walked around, lighting lamps, and Rose examined the house.
The first thing Rose saw was that the walls were made of books. Not literally, of course, but that was how it looked. They’d stepped into a small sitting room, and all of its walls were lined with more books than Rose could count. In the middle of the room were a frayed couch, a small table, and a scruffy-looking easy chair. The house smelled musty and Rose was reminded of the red-leather book hiding in her pocket.
Snape gestured Rose to the sofa and she sat down and watched as he examined his books, his fingers tracing the titles. The candle-lit lamp hanging above them accentuated the greasiness of his hair, his hook nose, his tall frame. Rose could see why her father said he looked like he could turn into a bat at any moment.
Thoughts of her father made her cringe and once again, she was on the topic of what to do when she returned home. Biting the insides of her cheeks and watching Severus pull down one book after another, her heart more noticeable to herself than usual; Rose decided that the one thing to do was to gather all the adults in the house. She would go to her Aunt and Uncle’s and tell them that her parents really needed company “ perhaps she could convince them to stay for two or three days. She’d offer to take care of James “ after all, what was there to do? Nothing. There were no special medicines or herbs the ill took “ there was nothing anybody could do for the disease. The sick just ate, slept, and woke like normal people “ expect for the fact that they were dying, rapidly.
She’d say that she needed her cousins’ company in this time of… hardship. They could trust her “ she was an adult now, and so were Albus and Lily. They could finally be trusted not to blow up the house “ or worse.
It would work, Rose decided, going over her lines like an actress preparing for a show. It had to work.
Severus set a small stack of books down onto the table.
‘Have you made your decision?’ he asked.
‘There was nothing to decide,’ she replied, standing up. ‘You have to come with me.’
She stood up, walked over to him and pulled the Time Turner out from under her shirt. Severus picked up his books and Rose stood on tiptoes and slipped the chain around Snape’s neck, feeling his breath on her face as she did so.
She straightened up, flustered, and grabbed the little golden hourglass that was dangling between them, avoiding Snape’s gaze. She turned the Time Turner for the second time in six hours, pleading with God in her heart that everything, everything, worked out.