Perhaps Another Time, Severus [A Severus Snape Fanfiction]

1994

1994
She watched as the world around her shifted in time. The 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 backward.

Her stomach lurched as the world became still again and details took shape around her. She took a deep breath, looking in all directions to see if anyone was around but it seemed she was alone. She thought she might vomit, but she swallowed the nerves back down.The castle stood in the distance, its tall turrets pricking the 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 was a teacher. She had been accepted to Hogwarts but 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 different. At Bextroll's she had learned charms from her Aunt and even the Unforgivable Curses. She had excelled at charms but failed at potions. Severus was the only reason she could brew anything at all.

She remembered when she 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 had made her laugh until her sides were sore. 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 the time traveling potion she had just used and he had taken the time to teach her, even though she was inept. Though thanks to him, she was mediocre now.

She tapped her wand on the iron lock of the gate and it swung open as if it had been expecting her. She eyed it curiously. 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 over a white shirt. 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. She knew everything about Hogwarts, but she would have to act as if she didn't.

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. When he spoke of it in their time, his tone was tinged with sadness. No Muggleborns could attend the school and only certain half-bloods. From what he had said, only a handful attended the school in their time and it was not without a struggle.

Shaylah approached the enormous doors, their height alone was intimidating. She placed a hand on the giant ring but the door flew open before she could pull. 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 in her eyes. "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.

"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." The old witch looked Shaylah up and down, 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, but it didn't feel right. She also knew she couldn't very well use Snape. "It's not very common."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at her. "I am Minerva McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. Do you have any luggage?" She asked while looking around 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. 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. 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 were on the other side of those doors in another time and place. She only hoped they remembered her.

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 concurrent. 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 felt compelled to pull the picture from the pocket of her jacket but fought the urge. She hoped 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 had mentioned it was better not to. Better they not 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. She muttered 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. She felt the nervous knot return to her stomach as she began to climb the steps.