Turning Time (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Medicine, pt. 1

Harry awoke feeling fully refreshed. He was to meet Snape at his house at noon, and had plenty of time to get ready. He used a spell that was equivalent to showering to clean, ate the one remaining sandwich, and re-dyed his hair magically, which was fading back to its normal hue. Harry emptied the contents of his bag onto the floor of the living room and considered the few things he had to deal with before he would be ready for school.

First, he had to figure out how and where to hide things that Jacob Walker would not be likely to possess. That included his Firebolt, his Invisibility Cloak, and his Time-Turner. He couldn’t risk losing it. Not that it would be impossible to replace, but he had to be able to access it easily. Wearing the Time-Turner around his neck, as he was doing now, would be too risky. Harry considered locking it in a box and putting a protective charm on it, but that would make it too hard to get quickly. He settled on transfiguring it, at least for a little while, into a framed photo of him as a baby (or what was supposedly him). No one would have a reason to take it, and it wouldn’t be suspicious, but unique enough for him to remember.

He wrapped all other things that fell into the suspicious category in two spare sheets from the master bedroom. He put them at the bottom of Hermione’s beaded purse, where they were unlikely to be discovered. It was too bad that the bag would be suspicious, since it was girly, but that didn’t matter much compared to how useful it had proved to be. 

Second, Harry had to count his money. He had about twenty pounds in Muggle currency, along with nearly 150 Galleons. This would last him at least the year, maybe two, but he’d have to visit Gringotts in his own time for more money if he stayed longer. He didn’t Snape to think he was as rich as James, so he had to be careful about what he spent.

Harry already had most of the required supplies for school, he just needed to make sure the publication dates were blacked out and the edition numbers covered. There was only one book he had to buy, plus a new, smaller cauldron and potion supplies. Snape would think it was strange for him to suddenly have everything he needed, so he decided to suggest they split for an hour so he could get their owls. Then he could just say he got his supplies along the way. It would be a bit of a stretch, but Snape would never guess the real way he had acquired them. 

When he was ready to go, it was a quarter to twelve. Harry grabbed his purse, along with another larger one he could use to hold his supplies. He left his suitcase where it was and Apparated downriver from Snape’s house. It was a bright day outside, crisp and still a bit cool from the previous night. An easy breeze swept over the grass, ruffling Harry’s (now blond) hair. 

He had to admit, he was a little nervous to meet Eileen Snape, formerly Eileen Prince. However, he was still less anxious that everything would go smoothly over the next couple days. He’d had excellent luck so far, and if it kept up, everything would be okay. 

Harry reached the edge of the forest and began down Spinner’s End. When he reached the Snape house, he couldn’t hear any arguing or fighting, thankfully. He knocked on the door, then waited for someone to answer, shifting from foot to foot to calm his nerves. After a few seconds, he heard a muffled voice, someone calling, “He’s here!” then footsteps approaching him.  

Severus opened the door. “Come in,” he said, voice strained, opening the door wider. 

Harry entered, feeling out of place. He was inside Snape’s house, about to go shopping with him. As friends. If someone during his years at Hogwarts had told him he would one day be friends with Snape, he would’ve had them admitted to St. Mungo’s.

The living room was unkempt, with various things lying about. The furniture was dusty, and the smell of smoke was strong. It may have been more normal for a Muggle home to be dirty, where it took physical labor and time to clean, but simple household messes were rarer in wizarding homes. It took much less work to clean with magic. The Snape family’s priorities, as Harry could’ve guessed before, judging by Severus’s greasy hair and shabby wardrobe, were not cleanliness.