Perhaps Another Time, Severus [A Severus Snape Fanfiction]

2008

2008
Severus pulled her tighter to him and more tears fell. She couldn't contain them at the thought of never being in his arms again. Never sharing this life with him again. It erupted in her chest like a volcano, all the thoughts of what could go wrong. Time was such a fickle construct and if she made any wrong moves, the lines could follow the same path.

She peeked over Severus' shoulder at the bright potion in the cauldron. They had been working on this potion for years and each time they got steadily closer. At first she had suffered mild side effects and made it nowhere. Then slowly she began to go back, first a year, then two. She would find a place to stay and wait out the days until she returned to their current time. She watched her life several times from the sidelines and each time it was just as beautiful to her as the first time.

This time Severus was confident that he had pinpointed the exact ingredients and if that were true, she would be sent back to 1994 when she was eighteen. It was by far the largest jump they had attempted and if it was successful, she couldn't sit and wait this time. She had an agenda.

He pulled away from her, placing his finger under her chin and raising her face to look at him. "Shay, you can do this." He ran his fingers through her hair, tangling them in the long golden curls and pulled her forehead to his. "You're the most amazing woman I have ever known, surely my former self will realize it too and we will have another chance at this." He gestured around the room, his eyes glossy with the tears he himself was fighting. "We will undoubtedly be drawn to one another again and in that life, we won't have to live in his shadow."

The hope in his words wove around her heart. Again the giggles of their children met her ears and the sobs came again. She pressed her lips to his and her fingers wound into the strands of his hair. She knew it was time but she didn't want to let him fall through her fingers like sand that she could never fully pick up again. She wasn't ready but time waited for no one, even those who pulled the strings tightly. "I love you, so much," He said softly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

She cupped his hand to her face, feeling the calming warmth he always radiated run through her. "I love you too, Severus." He slipped a photo into her fingers. She couldn't stop the tears from gushing once again as she looked down at it. Severus stood with his arm around Shaylah and his other hand on the shoulder of their six year old son Prince. Their four year old daughter Rose stood in front of Shayla, all of them beaming in front of the Christmas tree and turning to smile at each other. It was just last Christmas that it was taken, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

The picture began to shake as her hands trembled but Severus slid his palms onto the back of her hands, calming the fear that threatened to keep her here. "Keep it with you to remember us, but also use it to get through to me if need be." A single tear trailed down his cheek. "You must convince me that Moody is not who he says he is."

"What happens if I succeed? Do I just live a different life? I can never come back to this one, not if it works." She wiped the tear from his cheek.

Severus let out a heavy sigh. "Yes. You continue on the path that has been set in motion. However, if you fail the lines will be the same and in fourteen years we will be sitting here again," He paused. "Saying our goodbyes."

Her thumbs ran over the picture still in her hands, the knot in her stomach only growing. "What do I say to Dumbledore?"

"That you're a new student who had been homeschooled, your transcripts somehow were lost. You're there to finish your last year and take your N.E.W.Ts because you want to pursue a career as an Auror. I promise, it will work."

Once again the hope tugged at her heart. She drew in a deep breath and straightened her back. "Alright, I'm ready." She said as she exhaled. If she didn't go now, it was possible she wouldn't. They both stood and Severus wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly into his chest. She breathed him in, hoping the smell would follow her on her journey. Severus tilted her head to face him and crashed his lips into hers, it was deep and filled with a mix of emotions. When they seperated she wiped the last tear he had allowed to fall from his cheek.

With a flick of his wand a small vial filled itself with the bright white liquid that had been patiently waiting in the cauldron. Severus plucked the vial from the air and placed it gently in her open palm. "Drink it as soon as you get to Hogwarts, before you even walk through the gates."

She nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She arrived outside the gates of Hogwarts and pulled the vial from the pocket of her jacket. The soft glow of bright light lit up the night around her. She removed the stopper and drank the liquid, it tasted like the smell of rain water.