Perhaps Another Time, Severus [A Severus Snape Fanfiction]

1994

1994

Shaylah watched as the world around her shifted in time, the surrounding trees grew naked as their leaves fell but then in moments grew back in full, only to fall again immediately. She watched as the sun rose and fell in rapid succession, there was no night and day, only a blur of the sun and moon. Throngs of blurs passed, she assumed they were people but there were no details to them, just moving, colorful blobs. She hadn't experienced the rewind in this capacity before. When she had traveled back a year or two it was in their own home, she didn't watch the world outside shift fourteen years in reverse.

Her stomach lurched as the world became still once more and details began to take shape around her. She took a deep breath, looking in all directions to see if anyone was around but it seemed she was alone. Taking another breath to settle her roiling stomach, she swallowed the nerves that threatened to make her vomit.

The castle waited in the distance, its tall turrets pricking the breaking morning sky. It stood a monument to over a century of magical education, yet she had never stepped foot on its grounds. Her learning took place in a private school in London where her aunt had been a teacher. Though she had been accepted to Hogwarts, her father thought she would be better suited to attend Bextroll's.

He was right in a way, if she had attended Hogwarts, Severus would have been her teacher, and the path would have been much different. At Bextroll's she had learned charms from her aunt and even the Unforgivable Curses, excelling at charms but failing at potions, despite her father's expertise. Severus was the only reason she could brew anything at all.

There was a time she had burned a potion and the contents became a black mass of bubbling liquid in the bottom of the cauldron. The look of utter annoyance on Severus' face made her laugh until her sides were sore and as he poked the hardening fluid with his wand he muttered something about her being a dunderhead and she laughed even more. She still remembered the smile that formed on his face as he snorted and they both laughed together at her blunder. Yet, he still took the time to teach her. He was a potions master, who had created a brew strong enough to send her back fourteen years, and he had taken the time to teach her, even though she was inept. Though thanks to him, she was now mediocre at best.

A pang of guilt ran through her, causing her to pause, eyes still glued to the looming structure. Her father was out there, at their home in London, alive, and she couldn't go to him, couldn't risk seeing him, though her heart felt the weight of the decision. At this point in time, she was in her last year at Bextroll's, dreaming of joining the Ministry of Magic, of possibly becoming a teacher. Little did she know, that would not be the route that would present itself. No, in just a few years, her world would fall apart.

As she tapped her wand on the iron lock, the gate swung open, as if it had been expecting her, no longer rusted and tattered, but pristine. She eyed it curiously, inhaling deeply before crossing the threshold. Closing the gate with a great clatter behind her, she walked the well-worn path to the enormous front doors of the school. A soft mist accompanied her journey, slowly soaking through the black jacket she wore, a gift from Severus several years before. To her right was a wooded area, The Forbidden Forest, and a humble hut. She knew the hut belonged to a half giant named Hagrid, that he was a gentle soul with a penchant for creatures. She knew much about Hogwarts, but she would have to act as if she didn't know anything at all.

Severus had explained everything about the school to her over the years and she relished the tone in his voice when he spoke of it. Though his initial intentions for becoming a teacher were tainted, the school held a place in his heart. He always spoke of it with a tinge of sadness. In their time, no Muggleborns could attend the school and only certain half-bloods, the rules accompanying that decision were strict. From what Severus had told her, only a handful attended the school during his time there and it was not without struggle.

Shaylah approached the enormous doors, their height alone, intimidating. She placed a hand on the giant ring, heart pounding in her chest, but the door flew open before she could knock. An older looking witch with spectacles perched on the end of her nose and deep green, velvet robes waved Shaylah in with a look of annoyance, "Miss-" The old witch cut herself off, her eyes tracing over Shaylah's features and her damp clothes. McGonagall. Severus spoke highly of her. "Wait, who are you?" she asked with a pause between words, fiddling with her glasses on her nose as if her vision were the issue.

"Shaylah Epans. I've been homeschooled but I was sent to finish my last year and my N.E.W.Ts because I wish to become an Auror," answered Shaylah, conjuring the illusion of confidence. The old witch looked her up and down once more, as if trying to decipher the lie that had been told. "Epans? I've never heard that name."

Shaylah caught herself fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket, the nerves threatening to creep their way back up her throat. She should have used her maiden name, Wilde, but it didn't sit right, and Snape was most certainly not an option. "It's not very common."

McGonagall arched a brow but didn't push the subject further. "I am Minerva McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. Do you have any luggage?" she asked, her eyes flicking to the ground by Shaylah's feet.

Shaylah realized that no, she in fact, did not have any luggage. "Um, no ma'am, I left in a hurry. My parents said I should buy new things since it's a new school," she lied, shrugging. She knew it was unbelievable as it left her tongue, but it was already too late.

To her surprise the old witch simply hummed. "Very well. You'll need to be sorted so we can place you in a common room, it's not often we get new students so late in the year. The sorting hat is in the Headmaster's office. This way please." She gestured to the stairs behind her, and Shaylah followed in the wake of her long velvet robes. The huge doors slammed shut behind them as if closing on her old life. Her children and Severus, her father, were on the other side of those doors in another time and place. She only hoped she might be able to see them again.

Fourteen years was a long time, whether forward or back, and she still wasn't sure how the semantics of it all worked. Severus had told her about the theory that all time ran concurrently. Past, present and future all existing at once. She hoped there might be some truth to it and the family she had left behind still existed in their time and would move on without her if she succeeded. She fought the urge to pull their photo from the pocket of her jacket, hoping her kids knew how much she loved them. A pang of guilt ran through her for not telling them goodbye, but she had agreed with Severus when he mentioned it was better not to. Better they didn't know what their parents were attempting to do.

They climbed several flights of stairs and Shaylah nodded as some of the portraits greeted them. The castle was magnificent, and massive in comparison to the small school she had attended. The old witch came to a stop next to a stone gargoyle in a long corridor, muttering something that sounded like the name of a sweet and the stairs behind the archway began to move, spiraling upward. McGonagall held her hand out, gesturing for Shaylah to go ahead. That nervous knot in her stomach returned as she began to climb the steps.