Turning Time (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Water Lily, pt. 4

At six o’ clock, Snape was already waiting by the tree. It was the same one that Harry had seen in the Pensieve on the night of the battle. It was larger than most of the trees in the small forest, and stood alone at the top of a slope overlooking Lily’s street, which was a five or ten minute walk away. The base of the tree had a sort of inward dent, like someone had molded it to have a perfect spot to sit. The stream that ran through the forest ended at a large pond that sat in front of their second meeting spot, and only a few other trees separated the big willow from the outside of the forest. The sparseness of the forest across from the pond gave a clear view of the horizon, where the sun was starting to sink. Harry decided to make another appearance. 

Snape was currently reading, so he might not notice Harry if he went too far downstream. His plan just might work. 

He went to where he determined to be Snape’s edge of vision was, and starting walking from there. For good measure, he attempted skipping a few rocks. Harry failed on purpose, letting the pebbles plop into the water. He turned slightly to see if Severus was watching him. When Harry saw he had indeed captured Snape’s attention, he continued his performance. Harry continued failing, letting himself seem more and more frustrated. 

Finally, in pretend anger, he kicked a rock into the stream. It was simple, wandless magic to make the pebble skip across the water, bouncing in impossible directions. After it had finished skipping, it flew toward Harry, landing effortlessly in his outstretched hand. He rewrote his expression to be surprised and confused. 

Continuing along the river toward the pond, he scrutinized the stone, giving himself an excuse not to notice Snape staring at him. 

When he reached the pond, Harry tried skipping the stone again, without the results he clearly expected. He continued walking, searching for more rocks he could skip, until he found one pretty much on the shore, thirty feet in front of the tree. He straightened up, sizing up his pick, when out of the corner of his eye he “discovered” Snape. Harry began walking toward him. When he was within earshot, he said, “You’re that guy from before,” recognizing him as the kid he had saved just yesterday. 

“Yes…” Snape confirmed cautiously. 

“Are you alright?”

“Fine, thanks. Er, what was…what was that when you skipped the stone?”

Harry tried to look thoughtful, and he came back to where Snape was sitting. “I don’t know…I just kicked it and…” he paused, biting his lip. “Can I tell you something? You might think I’m crazy.” 

Severus shook his head, most likely already suspecting that Harry was an undiscovered wizard. 

“Well, recently…weird things have happened to me. Like—like, last week, I was up trying to work on schoolwork that I was assigned over the summer. My parents had wanted me to finish it by the next day, and I told them I had done it the week after school ended. I thought I could save it until last minute without them knowing. But then they said they were going to read it to make sure. So I had to do it that night. Only…I kept falling asleep. 

“That’s when it got weird. Just when I was about to fall asleep, I would feel something poking me. My pencil would roll down and hit my hand. Or at least that’s what it seemed like. So it was thanks to the pencil that I finished my paper.” The story was loosely based on a true experience, except he stayed up late because of the chores the Durselys had dumped on him. Harry searched Snape for his opinion.

“Jacob—that’s your name, right?” When he nodded, Snape continued: “I…I think you might be a wizard.” 

“…like, from in fairy tales?” Harry was going against the, “don’t-tell-him-you’re-a-Muggle-born” rule, but by not knowing he was a wizard he may as well be saying it straight out. 

Sure enough, Snape looked impatient. “No, like in real life, stupid.”

Harry was unfazed, since he expected the least. His acting had been a little too exaggerated. “Wait…are you…one too?” 

Severus rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am. So is my mother.”

Harry let himself appear confused.“Wait…neither of my parents are wizards.” 

Snape was struggling to keep the fact that Harry was an obvious Muggle-born from affecting the way he acted.  

“That…doesn’t…matter,” he managed slowly. “Anyways…you should get a letter from Hogwarts soon.”

“What’s Hogwarts?” Harry asked, aware of the limited time that Severus be patient with him.

“A school for witches and wizards.”

“Are you going there?” 

“Yes. Of course.” Snape crossed his arms and looked away. 

This was Harry’s cue to leave. He said suddenly, as if remembering something, “What time is it?” 

“Uh…seven,” Snape lied. 

“Oh, I have to go!” Harry started back in the direction he came, and then turned back to the wizard boy.

“What’s your name?” Harry asked. 

“Severus…Snape.” He had hesitated on whether to give his last name, which was either a sign of social awkwardness or that he didn’t think it was necessary to tell him.

“Okay, I’ll see you around then, Sna—I mean, Severus,” he corrected himself, and ran away from the place where he had discovered his abilities. 

He took 45 minutes to search the neighboring town and choose one of the houses. Harry had stayed at a quaint little B&B there when he visited his mum’s house, since he had other business the next day in the same area. Since he had the memory and image clearly in his mind, he Apparated there to save an hour of walking. Harry explored the area and eventually settled on a small house surrounded by trees. When he went inside, it had basic furniture and a few paintings, but no food or clothing, which led him to believe it was a summer cottage. Perfect. Now he had privacy, but could keep tabs on his supposed parents in case he ever needed them to pose as his mum and dad. He went outside, and by this time, the sun was starting to set.

Just in case he forgot, he recorded the address 509 Loyola Drive on a small piece of parchment. He made sure his stuff was out of sight, just in case, then apparated back to the tree. 

The night was magical. As the sun set, Lily and Snape sat side by side, talking in quiet awe. A gentle orange blended into yellows, illuminating the underbellies of purple clouds. Blue was starting to push closer and closer toward the horizon as street lights blinked awake below.

Harry watched the sky rather than the other two, basking in the peace and stillness of the evening. When Lily and Snape got up and started to walk, Harry followed. 

When they reached the open field, they started looking at the stars, which were just coming out. The two friends’ eyes lit up as they saw a star shoot across the sky.

“Sev! Make a wish! Make a wish!” Lily whispered excitedly, nudging his arm.

Face illuminated by the moonlight, lifted toward the sky, Snape abruptly stopped in place. Lily might not know what he wished for, she might not ever know, but Harry did. Lily watched Snape until he looked down at the ground and continued alongside her. 

“What did you wish for? Oh wait, you can’t tell me. That was…really cool, wasn’t it? I’ve never seen a shooting star, only in movies, but—” Snape stopped her in mid-speech, looking at her with a surprising intensity. Then he blushed and looked away. The rest of their walk was in silence. 

They reached Lily’s house, and, thankfully, the driveway was still empty. “See you tomorrow, Sev…” she said, then walked up the sidewalk leading to the house. When she got to the door, she opened it, gave Snape one last smile, then went inside.

Harry leaned against the light post and watched Snape begin to walk slowly home. There was something worth saving in their lives, or at least knowing about their lives, and Harry now knew what he wanted to do.